Spice Effect
by Transwarrior666
Summary: From the Great Void, We come... To this place will We abide, We who are the children of Siona and Idaho, Heirs of Shai Hulud and the Atreides Emperors, We who tread the Golden Path, from the realm of visions, where men walk without feet unto eternity and beyond... - A Passage from A Human Poem (Written in Ancient Galach), allegedly recited by Lord Burseg Faradan Shepard, Sardaukar
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect/Dune Crossover

Mass Effect AU

Post-Chapterhouse Dune

Prequels and Sequels by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson will not be used.

* * *

From the Great Void, We come...

To this place will We abide, We who are the children of Siona and Idaho, Heirs of Shai Hulud and the Atreides Emperors, We who tread the Golden Path, from the realm of visions, where men walk without feet unto eternity and beyond...

\- A Passage from A Human Poem (Written in Ancient Galach), allegedly recited by Lord Burseg Faradan Shepard, Sardaukar-in-Exile, upon meeting the Citadel Council.

* * *

When the humans first revealed themselves to the combined fleets and the remnants of Citadel Space, they seemed to everyone like the Reapers, or more accurately, their opposite, a powerful, secretive race, ancient and wise, from a galaxy very far away, possessing technologies that we could only dream of, but bereft of the desire to destroy.

They were relatively small in number, only a couple of hundred thousands, but their ships... Ah, I will speak of their technology later, but for now, it is sufficient to say that they changed everything.

To some, they were a new potential enemy, but to others, they were our very hope for survival. But for a small few, they were simply an enigma, a glimpse into something terrible beyond the edge of our galaxy.

\- Liara T'soni, _Humanity's Golden Path_

* * *

The Asari stared in shock at corpse next to her.

Captain Grevax Farsolas, 1st Captain of the Aras(1) Sanctuary security defense force, fell dead right next to her; half of his head blown off by a stray shot. The stench of the dead Turian soldier's blood and brain matter overpowered her senses, and she emptied the contents of her stomach right then and there on the floor where she lay half buried in rubble.

"Tevura! Hang on! Vero, help her out of there! We'll cover you." The voice came from Faelus Desolas, Tevura thought. He was the nice Turian boy who always gawked at the Asari maidens whenever they went out on patrols, and who had only recently joined the Sanctuary's . Gone was the gentle voice of boyhood. It had been replaced, at least for now, with focused desperation.

Tevura Tsoni winced as the pain filled her entire body, the sounds of screams and death not too far away. She couldn't see anything in the darkness of the tunnel except for the glowing eyes of the Husks coming right towards them. The sound of explosions and fading kinetic barriers filled her ears even as the stench of death and fumes clogged her nose.

Tevura tried to move, to crawl pitifully away from the impending doom of the Reaper's biomechanical pawns, but she could only whimper in agony as she attempted to do. Having your legs crushed and buried under rubble usually does that.

She spat out a curse that was drowned out by the noise of weapons fire and explosions. Today, her home, her life, her friends, her family and everything that she knew had been destroyed in less than three hours.

_Maidens weren't supposed to die this way_, she thought. According to her mother, Liara, they were supposed to "waste their lives pole dancing or running around as would-be explorers and mercs." _Heh, Pole... I would have been an awesome Pole dancer... literally and metaphorically... Great! I'm going to die and my last dying thoughts are about sex. Stay classy Tevura._

Tevura closed her eyes, and tried not to think about how, in a fit of boredom, she had wished that Aras would be attacked just ten months ago, because then she and her friends could leave the refugee bunkers hidden underneath the planet's surface and make a difference in the galaxy for a change. Dreams of glory and courage filled her then foolish 40 year old head, as well as those of her friends, only a few months ago. If they were out there in the Galaxy, why they would have slaughtered the Reapers and all their minions. The Citadel Council were obviously idiots for letting their best warriors languish here in Aras instead of fighting out there among warriors, like her parents, Captain Liara Tsoni, the Slayer of Harbinger, and Spectre Garrus Vakarian, Hero of Great Battle for the Citadel. She dreamed of living up to their legacy, to be the heroine that the galaxy needed, to command armies and star ships, and most of all, to fight the hated Reapers. Teruva Tsoni, the Asari Champion, and at her side, Vero'Forah , the cunning hero of the Quarian people, Wux, the mighty Krogan Berzerker, and Dear Sweet, Faelus Desolas... such a nice Turian.

Together, they would strike down the evil machines and restore the Citadel to its former glory.

_Well,_ _you got your wish, idiot! You're now about to die before the Reapers, you and all your super-hero friends, here in lovely, beautiful Aras. Congratulations. Wish granted. _

Prior to the Reaper invasion, Aras had been a barely explored, barely habitable hell hole in the middle of nowhere, with an icy surface and depressing landscape. No one wanted it, and save for a few probes and exploration missions, no one visited the planet's surface either. It had very little eezo deposits, almost no useful minerals, a hostile atmosphere, next to no fertility and worse of all, it had been located close to a sector that was known to have been a Pirate's Nest.

Mining ventures as well as colonization efforts had been considered over the years for Aras, but projections on the probable Return On Investments from either mining or settling the planet was simply too unrewarding for even the most desperate mining conglomerates in the galactic community. Not even smugglers wanted it.

And so Aras was left to rot, a cold ball of nothing... that is until the Reapers arrived.

As the war became more desperate for the Citadel Council, their strategy turned from "active engagement" to "strategic defense and containment," a euphemism which basically meant that they were losing. For despite the sacrifice of Specter Garrus Vakarian and the destruction of more than half of the Invading Reaper Fleet in the legendary Battle for the Citadel, they were still badly outnumbered and outgunned.

A Fabian strategy of guerrilla warfare and asymmetrical combat was soon carried out by the remnants of the Galaxy's races against the Reapers. Combining all of their military assets, the remnants of the Citadel Council, and even those not affiliated with them, formed the Combined Fleets. These fleets were basically a ragtag collection of ships from whatever the remnants could scrounge up.

This change in strategy was also followed by the creation of "Sanctuaries" for the Citadel's remaining civilian population. These sanctuaries were originally built close to military instillation as well as in star systems, where major fleets were still available.

However, after the destruction of all the major worlds of the Citadel Races, and the subsequent exodus of most their survivors, many of the existing sanctuaries could not absorb the influx of so many refugees, and new installations had to be installed. But with most of the Citadel's military assets dwindling, and the war turning into vicious blood bath, the new Sanctuaries had to be built in such a way that they could thrive and survive isolated from military protection and most the rest of galaxies.

These new Sanctuaries were based on ancient Prothean models, complete with cryostasis pods, a self-sustaining geo-thermal power source and stealth generators. If worse came to worse, the inhabitants of these Sanctuaries will be able to go into suspended animations, to wait out the holocaust of the present cycle. Should the Combined Fleets and Armies of the Citadel fall before the Reapers, they would become the last of their kinds - the last fading hope for the organics of this cycle.

Needless to say, Aras was the perfect planet to house a Sanctuary. Soon Three ships equipped with the latest Salarian stealth technology were sent to the planet, and within a span of a year, they built a medium sized Sanctuary inside the planet with enough facilities and food production to support a population of several thousands of refugees. Soon after completion, the first batch of refugees arrived, and among them was the daughter of Liara Tsoni. Aras was to be her new home, along with six thousand refugees from all of the known races in the galaxy.

Over the course of 5 decades, Aras' population would steadily grow three times its original size. Life was difficult in the Sanctuaries. All inhabitants were restricted inside, forbidden from ever leaving their home lest they draw the attention of the Reaper fleets. Work was hard, the food always rationed, but they survived, these last pitiful band of survivors. They survived against all odds.

Some went insane from their ordeals. Others went into voluntary suspended hibernation, abandoning any hope that the wider galaxy could triumph over the pitiless machines. But they survived. Beneath the surface of Aras, thousands of refugees prayed that those who still fought among the stars will not perish, and that some day, they might emerge from the darkness back into the bright shining light of life without the fear of extinction. But their gods and ancestors did not answer them.

And so they remained in Aras, in shadow and fear. This barely habitable rock had become one of the last remaining bastions of sapient life left in the galaxy...

At least until about a month ago, when several anomalous gravity wells began to appear inside Aras' star system. The stealth probes couldn't identify the nature of the anomalies, and Aras' science team didn't know what to make of these phenomenon.

Unfortunately, Aras' stealth probes were not the only ones that detected the anomalies. After about a week since their appearance, two Reaper ships entered into the system, looking here and there for the source of the anomaly. They couldn't find it, but after days of searching, they found something else: The Sanctuary.

It took the two Reapers, and their reinforcements, a little over a week to reduce Aras' population from 15,300 to 260. Thankfully, Some of the inhabitants managed to escape to their evacuation ships, cleverly hidden in various underground bunkers all over Aras, but a large portion of the Sanctuary's population also didn't make it out. Aras would become their tombs.

When evacuation protocols were initiated, Tevura, her friends and several other younger members had volunteered to act as rearguards for most of Sanctuary's inhabitants to flee from Reaper devastation. The security forces were slaughtered in the battle, but they succeeded. They helped the innocent and the helpless flee... even as they perished in their defense.

"You're gonna be okay!" Vero's distinctive Quarian voice filled her ears, as her hands fought to free her from the fallen rubble. Tevura yelled at Vero to escape, to save herself, but she couldn't even hear the sound of her own voice.

More explosions erupted around her, and Tevura knew then that the end had come. Soon enough, the main body of Reapers would break through the tunnel and crush all that was left of her friends and family. But something else happened. A strange sound erupted from somewhere outside the tunnels, like the voice of a dying a tortured Krogan. It was soon followed by several rays of bluish light emerging from several unidentified sources. The lights punctured through the husks cutting them down like chaff.

The remaining husks in the tunnels soon turned to engage the new interlopers only to be cut down themselves by the rays of bluish light. Soon, strange figures emerged from the darkness beyond the tunnels, moving about with impossible speed, some of which engaged the husks with long knives and even swords.

After a brief fight, Tevura leaned closer to see that most of the husks had been destroyed, and in their place, stood several asaroid shapes. She blinked her eyes once to see more clearly, but couldn't focus on the details on their features. At first, she thought that they were Asari, but upon closer examination, it became obvious that they were not. In fact, they didn't look like any race she had heard of. Drell perhaps? No. There was something unnatural about them. If she wasn't half buried under so much rubble, and suffering from blood loss, she would have been able to clearly see their actual features, but as things are now, they just seemed like strange looking creatures.

Tevura saw the last of the Husks, a hulking Brute flanked by two Cannibals, rush one of the unidentified beings - possibly one of their leaders. The creature appeared to be covered with some kind of organic armor, and armed with a glowing blade. Instead of retreating back to its companions, the creature moved with incredible speed, first ripping off the head of one of the Cannibals, and then perforating the second Cannibal's head with an upward thrust through the jaw. It was over in just two heartbeats.

The Brute, however, was able to land a powerful blow on the creature's torso. The creature flew back like a ragdoll, but quickly spun off the floor and attacked the Brute with a furious charge. Again, came the blinding speed, and the creature threw a jab at the Brute that cracked the Turian shaped casing of its face, before impaling it with his sword. He did this with such speed that it was over in a little less than a second.

To make sure that she was not imagining things, she turned to her companions to make sure that they saw what she saw. They were, and like her, they were staring in shock at the creatures that stood before them.

She strained to have a closer look, but something inside her burst, and she began to lose consciousness.

* * *

Stravan Hackett was angry. His synth-trout carapace armor (2) had been damaged by that giant Husk. His armor! Damaged by a Husk, when it had endured attacks from much worse. Three Synth Trouts fell off the area on his torso where the Brute had struck him, while those next to them were slowly peeling away. _It was a little painful_. Synth trout carapace were not supposed to get damaged like that, which meant that those fools who managed the synth trout colonies in the _Brazil_ were not taking care of them properly, he thought with anger. He hissed as he peeled off another dead synth trout off his chest.

_Someone is going to be doing latrine duty for a year because of this mess, _he thought.

Synth-Trouts or Synthetic Trouts are the artificially produced cousins of sand trouts. Unlike ordinary sand trouts, however, they didn't grow into giant sand worms, nor did they produce any spice. They were just little creatures that liked to bury in the sand and trap water. Like their sand trout cousins, however, they can be attached onto the human skin to form a powerful and highly durable exoskeleton (much like the one used by the Tyrant Worm prior to his ascension). All it required was the proper manipulation of certain hormones and chemicals within the human body, which most humans in the Scattering were perfectly proficient at.

This batch of Synth Trouts, however...

_You were lucky. You shouldn't have underestimated that synthetic abomination. You were careless, incompetent_, he thought with a great deal of self-criticism.

"Where's my wife?" Hackett snarled as he emerged from the hole in the tunnel, leaving his men and some of the Xeno survivors still inside. Gods curse this wretched icy hell hole, he thought as stomped through Aras' cold surface. "Kasia! Kasia!"

He grabbed one of his men, a young mentat of 30 by his looks. He wore the same Synth Trout Armor that he wore, just like the rest of his men. "Where's the Witch?"

"Sorry Milord. The Lady Shepard is inspecting some of the Xeno Structures. Maybe she's still there." The young mentat then saluted and left quickly.

"Dammit! Gods Below that was close," Hackett sighed as he deactivated Disruptor Blade, an elegantly decorated Shamshir covered by a Disruptor field, and sheathed it into his scabbard. Disruptor fields were originally designed to dissipate Holtzman fields found on most body shields, but they were also quite effective at simply tearing things apart.

He sat down on the remains of wrecked Ravager and tried to catch his breath. Stravan Hackett looked liked an old man, but then so did most mentats, even the young ones. A scar was on one of his checks, and his weathered face showed the burdens and trials of a lifetime of struggle and fighting. His pale skin and white hair were sharply contrasted by the dark color of his synth trout carapace armor. He rubbed some of the stress and pain off his neck before allowing himself a few seconds worth of deep breath relaxation.  
_  
Gods Below, that was too close! _He thought once more.

"I told you to wear your shield," a woman from behind him said, and by the tone of her voice, it was clear that she fully aware of what he was thinking based only on a few subtle clues.

"Dammit Witch! I told you not to sneak up on me like that," he snarled at the Bene Gesserit Witch who stood behind him."

"How many have we saved?" The woman asked without bothering to indulge his frayed nerves. Her voice was kind and very feminine, the kind of voice that placated kings and gentled conquerors, but her face was a bit unsettling. Unkempt red hair, with lines of grey - The hair of a Witch. Her eyes were blue within blue, and face that bore an elegant and patrician shape, though slightly sagging from age. Under any other circumstances, Kasia would appear like an ordinary Bene Gesserit witch, but her mannerism, however, were completely unsettling. There was something wild about her - laughing and mocking, a sort of ridiculing tendency not normally found among the Bene Gesserit.

"A little over two hundred," responded Stravan, too tired to make trouble.

"And what of Kasumi?"

"Your pet face dancer is safe. She's waiting for you in one of the shuttles. She has the Xeno artifact."

"Good. Good. Let us retreat back to the shuttles before the Machines return."

Hackett gave a hand signal to one of his subordinates, and the retreat immediately went underway. He then turned back to Kasia. "Do you think the artifact is really what the Cerberii claim it to be?"

A smile emerged on Kasia Shepard's face, and strange spark came to her eyes. This was her face whenever she plotted her constant pranks.

"I have no patience for your tricks today, witch! A yes or no would suffice."

Shepard chuckled and looked to the hole where the xeno survivors were being evacuated. Blue creatures, hulking lizard creatures, elephant like giants, little lizard things, weird looking avian aliens... _So much variety_, she thought.

"We will discuss the artifact and the Cerberii later my beloved husband. For now, let us enjoy our very own First Contact," she said without taking her eyes off the procession of xeno refugees, who were gawking at her and most of their men. Some looked like they were protesting, others were whimpering, but most simply looked scared. They clearly did not wish to go along with the strange creatures, but the alternative was to stay in a planet that was being attacked by Reapers.

Hackett thoughtfully touched the hole on his armor again, and decided to change the subject. "What are you planning Kasia? Really? Why the Xenos?"

"Why the Xenos? Oh, you know. I just felt like it. That's all!"

This was too much. "You and I know what will happen when our _fleet _finds out that you rescued these Xenos. The Sardaukar will be furious and there's no telling what the Cerberii will do. Even some of my own mentats are complaining about your orders."

"If you'll recall correctly, Stravan, the senior officers of the Brazil voted on rescuing the Xenos. We have consensus on our side, so there's no need to worry."

"Some of the the crew and junior officers disagree."

_Ah! So that's what he's worried about. _"They think that the _Bene Gesserit Witch _has manipulated their leaders. The vile Witch with her wiles and tricks? Ehehehehehehe?" She cackled as she rubbed her hands together in the caricature image of a plotting Bene Gesserit.

Hackett did not take the bait. "I am concerned about the morale and opinions of our crew and allies. They will question your motives. You know that very well."

"Are those the words of a focused mentat? Or are they the mewlings of a neurotic old man?" The rebuke was spoken with a small tint of Voice, and a great deal of sarcasm.

"Our interference here is unnecessary, at best, and dangerous at worst," Hackett snapped. "We came here to rescue your Face Dancer. She is safe. We should not complicate our situation by exposing ourselves to unnecessary dangers."

"These Xenos are dangerous?"

"To bring them to one of our ship is VERY dangerous, and that is a prime projection of approximate certainty." Hackett saw the Bene Gesserit's face frown. She hated it when he used Mentat-isms, which is why he used them often. "They will divide our crew and our allies, cause friction. You know that. Half of them want to reveal ourselves to the Xenos, while the other half want to keep our existence a secret. Look Kasia, I know the potential rewards of learning more about the inhabitants of this galaxy, but our current situation is both dangerous and volatile."

"Danger and Volatility is the essence of the Golden Path, my dear Mentat, an eternity of surprises, remember?" The Bene Gesserit answered, but the meaning of her words cut deep. It was meant to rebuke Hackett, to remind him that humanity's survival was based on the paradoxical need to confront the unknown, to seek danger. This, Hackett understood all too easily, a lesson that most of humanity had learned from Leto's Peace, but the Mentat in him knew and understood other lessons as well. Witches were not the only ones who saw the terrors and beauty of the Scattering after all.

"There are many kinds of dangers, many kinds of paths." Hackett answered, an obvious taunt.

"And the safest ones lead to destruction..." The Witch answered, refusing to play his word games. All humans know these lessons in the very depths of their being, wherever they are; whatever they may have become.

"Dangerous ones sometimes lead to the same ends as well," the Mentat retorted, and his normally harsh face softened, "Please Kasia. I just want to know what you're planning. How do we benefit by saving these Xenos?"

Shepard's Blue in Blue eyes stared at him with a poise and self-control that was rare for her. "We came to this Galaxy seeking many things, each one of us, _husband_," she spoke the word tenderly. "But we are interlopers. If we are to settle here then we must get acquainted with our neighbors."

"Your neighbors are being exterminated by the Machines." He left his true statement unspoken: _This galaxy is an Abattoir_. _Let the Cerberii have it if they wish, but we and Sardaukar should go back to the Scattering_, _back among other humans, even the dangerous and evil ones. I do not wish to be among Xenos... _

Kasia gently caressed her husband's face and spoke in a gentle tone. "We cannot escape from everything that makes us uneasy, Stravan. Infinity is our birthright, remember? The Scher Nbiw," she said simply, the meaning of her words clear enough. Then, her face lit up, and her tone changed. "Also, because one of the aliens have two pairs of testicles. I want to see what their genitals look like." The implied infidelity quickly shattered whatever atmosphere of tenderness existed before.

Stravan's wrathful glare returned and he quickly got up and tried to go back to his men, before turning around and snarling at Kasia with a look of uncertainty on his face. "Please tell me that you didn't have us go through all this trouble just so you could observe the genitals of a bunch of aliens!"

"Of course not! I also plan to dissect them," she said with a dimpled smile.

Stravan shook his head in surrender. "I give up. You can't argue with a Witch. All I ask is that you tell me your plan when the time comes."

Kasia looked at her husband as he walked away back to his men. _Silly old fool, _she thought with some tenderness. _Of course, I'm plotting something. But the Xenos are simply a distraction. The chaos that they will cause among our allies and crew will buy us precious time, especially against the Cerberii... and then, we'll see.  
_  
"And besides," she said to herself, "I really want to meet the neighbors."

* * *

1 - Aras is 2181 Arion in Mass Effect, a planet located in the Psi Tophet System, the same system that is home to 2181 Despoina (Cuttlefish Land).

2 - In God Emperor of Dune, Leto II, attached sand trout on his skin, and they formed into a complex exoskeleton that gave him super speed, super strength as well as protection from poisons, projectiles and even Las Guns. The Synth-Skins here are cheap knockoffs of that armor.


	2. Chapter 4

I'm sorry Commander Tsoni, but humanity lost its homeworld a long, long time ago, in a galaxy long forgotten. So we can't really tell you much about it. The conservative estimate is that the human home world was destroyed 40,000 years ago, countless millenia after we achieved space flight, while the wilder theories say that it was destroyed a million years ago after eons of war and strife. No one really knows at this point... except perhaps the Bene Gesserit, but I would advice not asking them your questions. The witches usually give answers that cause more harm than good.

As for humanity's age, we are also not sure. Even genetic analysis fails to give us a clear answer as to how old our species – if you can still call it that - actually is. After the Scattering, we can't even remember which galaxy or universe we came from. So we cannot tell you much about what we were, for they are but faint memories to us now.

We can only tell you what we have become... We are like the Great Void... Every Good, Every Evil, Any God, Any Devil.

\- High Bashar Javid Anderson to Commander Liara Tsoni

* * *

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of humanity is there evolution. From what little we know about them, we can safely assume that they are an ancient race, much older than the Protheans themselves(1).

However, it's not their age that originally concerned the Citadel diplomatic corps, but their evolutionary diversity. Various human sources have confirmed that as the species spread beyond the confines of their home galaxy, the event known as The Scattering, it triggered rapid evolutionary changes and mutations among the exiles, causing multiple human factions to diverge from the original human genepool.

The full extent of these changes are unknown to us, at present, but when I asked one of the "Be-ne Gess'rith" about this issue, she merely laughed, then told me, "Imagine, Doctor Tsoni, an Infinite Universe – An Infinite Universe with all its wonders and horrors... Now, imagine your species adapting to it over several generations, in suffering and in triumph; changing to thrive in a Universe where only the Strongest Survive, and where even Gods fear to tread."

"Remember, Doctor, that the Machines that you name the Reapers dwell beyond the limits of your galaxy. Imagine what else dwells in that pitiless darkness. Now, imagine your species changing, transforming to thrive _there_. That is what we have become."

The "Reverend Mother" then laughed, made some comment about flatulence, and left. If I were a superstitious person, I would almost think that she had put a hex on me, for her words disturbed me and my Salarian colleagues for many nights.

Liara Tsoni, Notes and Commentaries on _Humanity's Golden Path_

* * *

The tiny human fleet that entered this galaxy consists of three ships, the No-Ship, Brazil, commanded by the Mentat Lord Stravan Hackett; the Star Folder, Normandy, commanded by Lord Burseg Faradan Shepard; and the Bioship of the Cerberii. Of all the three ships, it was the Bioship that would later earn the greatest awe among the Out-Freyn Xeno inhabitants of the Citadel, for it was a ship made out of synthetic flesh and steel.

Its name was "Bioship." It had no other name. There are others like it, of course, among the Scattering, but here, in this galaxy, it was the only one of its kind. Though smaller than the two other ships in the human exploration fleet, it was still quite massive by this galaxy's standards. The vessel was around 10 km long, and unlike most human ships which were either shaped like cylinders, cubes, diamonds or sphere, its shape was that of an exotic looking fish, covered with glowing spires of energy.

Most of the ship's hull consists of Ridulian Crystal based alloys, but fused with an unknown techno-organic substance of vaguely Tielaxu origin. Like the No Ship and the Star Folder, The Bioship also had its own Ixian No Globe, a stealth device designed to synthesize a mechanical mimesis field that renders the vessel invisible to both conventional detection devices as well as the powers of prescience.

The secrets of the Bioship, its offensive and defensive capabilities, its engines, life support systems and production capabilities, are all carefully guarded secrets by the Cerberii who control it. Even the number of crew members and assault troops inside the vessel are unknown to their allies in the Brazil and the Normandy (which goes to show how much they trust each other). Even most of the Cerberii crew know all of the strange secrets of their enigmatic vessel. Only their leader, The Illusive One, along with a few trusted lieutenants, know the full secrets of the ship.

* * *

The dark haired, elegant woman entered the inner sanctum of the Illusive One with all of the grace and elegance of a woman in her position. She was, after all, the captain of the Bioship, and she was fully aware of all the power and dangers which went along with her position. Her name was Marandi Lawson, and she attained her rank among the Cerberii through intelligence, espionage and ruthlessness.

Marandi was accompanied by a small cloaked figure, its entire face and body concealed by its apparel. Both the woman and her small companion walked through dark hallways, guarded not by frail guards of flesh and bone, but by secret cameras and traps filled with poisons and all manner of weaponry to eliminate the uninvited. This passageway was forbidden to all but the most senior members of the Cerberii, for it is well known that the Mentats and the Sardaukar, their "allies," are eager to know their secrets, and have posted numerous spies in the Bioship, just as the Cerberii posted spies on theirs.

After what seemed like hours of walking, the pair finally reached their destination, a nondescript passageway which led to other passageways, one of which led to the inner chambers of the Illusive One.

"Stay here until I summon you. Be patient. I know this is all very disconcerting, but you will do fine," Marandi said to her companion, who nodded quietly and took up a spot right next to the passageway. "Stay here until I call for you. Be sure not reveal your face. There may be spies even here."

Marandi smiled warmly again, a smile that almost concealed her true nature: Killer.

Marandi then walked alone through the passageway and prepared herself for her inevitable meeting with the Illusive One. Her thoughts pondered the plans and strategems of the Sardaukar, the Mentats and, most important of all, the Witches. Their alliance with the other human factions was done out of expediency and was ordered by the Illusive One as part of his own plans. What those plans are, he did not care to share with her at the moment, but Marandi knew better than to ask.

For now, she was content to know that the Cerberii were one step ahead of their so-called allies. A good example of this is how neither the Witches nor the Mentats can figure out the true origins of the Cerberii; where they came from or which Old Imperium faction they were originally branched off of. Her presence and position as The Bioship's Captain, for example, had always troubled her Sardaukar and Mentat allies on the other ships, for they had always assumed that the Cerberii were a Tielaxu offshoot, and the Tielaxu are notorious for turning their women into Axolotl Tanks, basically incubation chambers for their twisted experiments. The fact that Lawson was obviously not an Axolotl Tank disrupted their theory about the actual origins of the Cerberii. Lawson, however, cared little about such rumors, especially now that they were one step closer in achieving their plans here in _this_ Galaxy.

Marandi put away such thoughts once she reached the inner doors to the Illusive One's sanctum. She knocked in a secret pattern and immediately the doors opened. She pondered how she would greet her superior, but she was spared from having to worry about such niceties.

"I take it you have news, Captain," the Illusive One said almost impatiently, immediately signalling to Marandi that he was not in the mood for idle chatter.

"Yes, I just received a message from the Normandy. The Brazil has found the relic, and the Mentats are on their way back," Marandi Lawson said. She stood in front of the Illusive Man, in one of the Bioship's inner chambers, sealed off from the rest of the ship by intricate passageways and hidden doors. The entire area was concealed by shadows; vague smells that could be poisons permeated the area, while the dry hum of heretical ancient machinery could be heard in the dark background.

The creature which dwelt in this elusive place was called The Illusive One, a once nameless human who through Ixian technology or Tielaxu biology, or perhaps even both, had renounced his human form to become one with his Bioship, a process that involved grafting his flesh into the very same biomechanical circuitry which made up most of his ship's hull. His state was not unlike that of the Guild Navigators of old, a creature of prescience, trapped in eternal symbiosis with his ship.

Most of The Illusive One's body was concealed by the room's gloomy darkness, his full features made vague and difficult to discern. However, should light be unleashed in this dark place, it will reveal to human eyes the grotesque image of a spider like creature, with mucus like membranes charged with dull looking balls of light that seemed to crawl like slugs upon the Illusive One's tendrils and dessicated limbs, climbing away into other fleshy areas of its domicile.

There many other Illusive Ones, hidden away among the Scattering, each with their own plans and secrets, serving the greater goals of the Cerberii in an infinity of worlds, galaxies and universes. But here in this Galaxy, this particular Illusive One is, for all intents and purposes, _The Illusive One, _the only one of its kind, just like its ship.

When the Illusive One, still hidden in the shadows, did not respond, Marandi coughed a bit to demand his acknowledgement. Within the shadows, the Illusive One simply smiled. _She always was impatient, _he thought.

"Thank You for taking the time to bring me the news personally, Lady Lawson," he said. He already heard about the news, of course, but having Marandi give him the news personally was always a good thing. It meant that she was still loyal. "Tell me, did they encounter any problems in retrieving the Leviathan artefact?"

"Overall, nothing, Lord... The Face Dancer, Kasumi, managed to locate it easily enough. I heard she was even impressed by the intelligence that we gave her" Marandi paused for her superior to comment, but the silence only lengthened. So she was forced to continue.

"However," Marandi hesitated, and picked her next words with care. "The Brazil's Artificial Gravity Well caused... a problem." Again, she paused.

"Get to the point woman! I am not one to punish people for saying the truth." The Illusive One said in rebukingly.

Marandi tried to organize her thoughts carefully and sought the most expedient words for her Lord. "The Machines... They detected the Brazil's Gravity Well, and they sent a strike force to investigate the Brazil's presence in the Star System. The goods news though is that the Machines did not find the Brazil, nor did they impede the mission."

"However, they did find the underground Xeno refugee colony in Aras..." The swirling energies that circled the Illusive One became darker for a brief moment as she said her words. "... and the Brazil intervened to save some of the Xenos."

Contrary to what Marandi had expected, the Illusive One did not fly into a terrible rage. Instead, he became silent and ponderous. Even Marandi who had been breed and born to serve the Cerberii know very little about the true nature of Illusive Ones. These creatures were a mystery even to their own people, and she was correct to be concerned about her skin.

"That's... interesting..." The Illusive One said, and then went back to ponderous silence.

Marandi looked at her Lord for a few more minutes, wondering if she should say something or if there's something that she is expected to say. She was fairly sure that he would fly into a rage, which she had seen often enough before, but the Illusive One didn't move an inch. He only remained in quiet repose. "What could this mean?" She asked at last.

The Illusive One closed his eyes, mainly to calm his thoughts. "It's a faint. The witches are planning to use the Xenos to cause chaos amongst their own people and to compromise our plans, or at least what they believe to be our plans."

"Lord?"

"Oh, Lady Captain. I'm disappointed in you. Don't you see? The Witches have been planning this for a long time. The Aras incident simply gave them the perfect opportunity to put their plan into action. We know for a fact that our beloved allies do not trust us, and the Witches wish to exacerbate this situation to their own advantage." The Illusive One saw that Lawson did not understand, so he took a different tactic.

"The Xenos that they have rescued offers several interesting opportunities for them. On the surface, it allows the Witches to finally interact with the _indigenous inhabitants_ of this galaxy... under their own terms. However, this change of events also offers them the chance to confirm some of their own suspicions about our agenda... and also about _this galaxy. _The Xenos will inevitably provide them with clues that will lead them to dangerous secrets... knowledge that we have purposely concealed from them since we invited them to this galaxy.

"The Machines..." Marandi said, following the path of his thoughts.

"Yes, the Reapers, and the Leviathans, and once the witches know the full story behind these ancient beings, they will inevitably learn our own secrets. They already know that we are hiding a lot of information about the Reapers, and now they have the opportunity to expand their knowledge base. It's only a matter of time before the Witches piece together the missing pieces and uncover why we are here, and what we came to do."

"And should the Xenos prove uncooperative?"

The Illusive One chuckled in response. "You and I both know how ruthless the Bene Gesserit actually are, but do not concern yourself. I am sure the Witches... and maybe the Mentats too... will be more than capable of manipulating their new _guests. _Aside from the Reapers, I'm sure that our stalwart allies are eagerly seeking other trails of information_._"

"Information about the Citadel?"

"Yes, also about the Asari, the Salarians, the Turians and all of the other primitives in this galaxy."

Marandi narrowed her eyes and pondered the importance of his words. She could not understand why the Illusive One was treating this whole matter like a joke. "If what you say is true then we must eliminate the Xenos before the Witches learn more. The information can be quite dangerous."

"No!" The Illusive One said forcefully. "No, Marandi. Let the Witches toy with the Xenos. It will keep them occupied, and we need to keep them occupied, and their new guests will do just that."

Marandi shook her head, unconvinced. "And what if they contact the remnants of the Citadel."

"The Citadel Races are irrelevant at this point. There's very little that they can do to help the Witches, the Mentats or the Sardaukar."

"But they can still help the Xenos," Marandi retorted.

Her response gave him pause. "Yes. Yes, they can, but that will not change anything."

"So what would you have me do?"

"At the moment, nothing. We will go on with business as usual. However, Lady Lawson you take every action necessary to accelerate our time table. It is clear to me now that the Witches suspect that we are after something, and they know that we are running out of time."

"Do you think they suspect our true motives?"

"Oh, I'm sure the Reverend Mothers suspect a lot of things, but we are still several steps ahead of them. _The Xenos,_" The Illusive One spoke that word in an almost snarl-like way, "are ultimately an attempt to slow us down, to make us panic and perhaps even to distract us, as they undertake their other plots. Plots within plots, my dear."

"Will it work?" Marandi asked. This time it was a challenge, and she regretted immediately that the words came from her mouth.

"It doesn't matter. The Witches don't even understand why we want the Leviathan artifact... or why we invited them, along with their Mentat toys and _Sardaukar_ dogs, here."

Marandi considered this thoughtfully. She was not convinced and decided to change the topic immediately. "What about the Catalyst? Will they learn about the Catalyst through this relic?"

"It's possible," The Illusive One answered, "though it will take time before they will fully understand what the Catalyst actually is, and its connection to the Reapers. In the meantime, we must hurry our plans. Are the Rachni ready?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Good. They will prove quite useful later on. Be sure to double security on the Queen and the latest batch. Same with the Krogan Axolotl Tanks."

"I have already done so, Lord. Gene-mod progression is already 52% complete. We will soon be able to field our new arsenal."

"Good. We will need as many weapons as we can get when we return to the Scattering."

"Now, let us discuss the other pressing issue. Bring him in."

"Yes, Lord," Marandi turned and summoned her cloaked companion into the room.

* * *

The cloaked figure removed his hood to reveal a young looking Turian boy of indeterminate young age. He was a very short for his age, and his limbs and hump more delicate than most young Turian boys.

He looked around at his surroundings, and at the grotesque monstrosity that now loomed over him. He was scared, not only of his surroundings, but also of the ominous memories which seemed to be buried deep within him. The fact that he was obviously not of the same species as the crew of this gargantuan ship did not bother him at all.

Marandi had assured him that he was very important to the Cerberii... and this knowledge helped to calm his fears.

Nevertheless, the Turian's clawed hands shook involuntarily and it filled him with shame. Marandi had trained him to be strong, to be calm in the face of danger, and here he was being nervous in front of his mistress.

"Do not be afraid Ghola," Marandi said to him, smiling. "You are in the presence of the Illusive One. He is as much your friend as I am. Come closer."

The Young Turian bristled at being called "Ghola." He did not know what the word meant, only that it was a term of some kind, and that it was also his name.

Ghola looked around nervously at his surroundings. The techno-organic nature of the gigantic Bioship had always intimidated him, but it seems that most of his fears were encapsulated in this very room, and in front of the very creature that he now faced.

Without warning, the Illusive One spoke, "How goes his training?"

"Very well, milord," Marandi said, "Little Ghola is quite smart... _despite his species._"

Marandi had personally trained Ghola as her own student, starting from the time when he first emerged from the Axolotl Tank, about two to three cycles ago. She taught him all about Turian history, about the war with the Reapers and of the Citadel Civilizations. Ghola was a good student, and he grew attached to Marandi, just as a young creature attaches itself to a parental figure, but no matter how much he grew close to his mentor, Ghola could not forget the horrors of the Axolotl Tank which gave him life, nor could he blot out the nightmarish vessel where he now dwelt.

_The Axolotl Tank... That thing was like a nightmare. I hope I never see that thing ever again, _Young Ghola thought as he waited patiently.

"Good. Very good. Let him come closer."

Marandi nudged Gholar closer to the Illusive One's shadowy silhouette, and he awkwardly complied.

"Greetings, Little Ghola. We have not yet restored your memories, and some of my Gene masters still have doubts it will work on _one who is not human_, but I am confident that you will live through the process." The Illusive One said, not wasting time on pleasantries.

"Hush now. We have ample time for words later," he said as Ghola was about to say his well-rehearsed greeting. "For now, you must take the first step to restoring your memories." The Illusive One looked at Marandi who stood patiently behind Ghola, before turning his eyes back to the young Turian boy.

"Before you were simply a Ghola, the first Turian Ghola to be sure, but still a Ghola. Today, I return to you the name that you have lost after your noble sacrifice for the survival of your people." The Illusive One peered closer at the Ghola.

"Welcome back Garrus Vakarian, Archangel, Hero of the Citadel, Bane of the Reapers..."

* * *

"Jim!"

"What?"

"Jim"

"What?"

"Jiiiim"

"Dammit Al, What? What do you want?"

"You hear that?"

"Yes, I can hear that. It's coming from that damn Machine you shoved in our cargo bay. What about it?"

"I think... I think it's trying to control our minds?"

"Now, whatever gave you that idea?"

"You feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"That! Every time it makes that loud noise. It emits that electromagnetic burst."

"I don't feel anyth... Huh... Well, that's... interesting. That almost reminds of T-Probes."

"I know, right? These Machines seem to have the ability to remotely manipulate brain waves. Cool, huh?"

"_Cool_ isn't the term, I would use, Al, but yes, that is interesting."

"What do you think created these Machines, Jim?"

"How should I know? All I know is, that these _things _can lead us to _Lucy"_

"Will you stop you using that stupid nickname?"

"No, because naming our creations _The Illusive One_ is fucking retarded."

"Hey, it was a good idea at that time."

"It was a Dildo idea."

"You're Dildos. I wish I was back with Marty and Daniel. You're a dick... Dildos. You're a dick dildo."

"Charming. Can we please get back to the issue at hand here?"

"Yeah, sure. Dildos."

"How many of them did we get?"

"You mean the Machines?"

"No, the magical fluffy bears. Of course, I'm talking about the Machines, Al."

"Well! I never! I'm going to tell Marty and Daniel about your behavior when we get back."

"You know what? I don't even care. Just tell me how we did with the machines."

"If you must know we got three of them, including the one in the cargo bay. The rest escaped, probably back to their home galaxy."

"Please tell me you remembered to put trackers on them."

"Yes, Jim. I remembered to put trackers on them. So I would appreciate it if you'd stop talking down to me."

"I'm not talking down to you, Al. It's just that we spent so much time and effort tracking down our rogue Cerberii that I'm really really frustrated right now."

"Oh, Jim. I'm sorry. I guess I really do get carried away when I goof around."

"I'm sorry too. I guess I was being a bit of Dildo myself. It's just that I'm really frustrated with that renegade _Bioship_. We've been pursuing them from one galaxy to another for Tyrant knows how long. This is beginning to piss me off."

"Don't worry, Jim. If what we've learned from these machines are correct then our prodigal Cerberii have taken shelter in the Machine's home galaxy... and once we've arrived, we'll drag his sorry ass back to Daniel and Marty, and then you can take all your frustrations out on that little shit."

"I hope you're right, Al, because I'm getting really tired pursuing them... What do you think their home galaxy is like? There aren't a lot of humans around here. Really off the beaten _golden_ path."

"Probably primitive if you ask me... Dammit! Why won't that thing won't stop making that annoying sound? Hey shut up already!"

"Awww. Come on. It's actually kinda cute. It really thinks it can mind control us."

"Cute? I just find it annoying."

"What do you suppose we'll find in that galaxy?"

"Who cares. I just want to get the damn Cerberii and go home."

"Likewise."

* * *

1\. According to the Dune Encyclopedia, Human Spacefaring Civilization is between 30,000 to 50,000 years old. However, in the actual Dune books, Humanity is implied to be much, much older than that, so old in fact, the most humans can't even remember the name of their own homeworld.

Although I will use some information from the Dune Encyclopedia, I will not be using the timeline. Instead, I will go with the implicit assumption on Dune that Humanity is very ancient.

* * *

Author's Note: Al and Jim belong to the same enigmatic faction that "Marty" and "Daniel" belonged to, at the end of Chapterhouse Dune. Since I'm not using the Brian Herbert and K.J. Anderson novels, they will not be revealed to be top kek ancient machines.

Also, Al and Jim's names are based on two video game characters, which are surprisingly similar to facedancers. I'll give you a few clues. They absorb personas. They were originally designed as biological weapons. They are "post-humans." They are extremely dangerous and "amoral." Remind you of anyone?

Winner gets an imaginary Nazi unicorn.

I know that most of the POV has been on the humies, but the next chapter will feature the Xenos.

We'll Bang Ok?


	3. Chapter 5

Just to be clear, Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert's works will not be used on this fic. Only the original Dune novels by Frank Herbert will be used, and maybe the Dune Encyclopedia. So no, Al and Jim are not machines, and in this fic, Omnius and Erasmus have never even existed. Only Marty and Daniel.

As for the Xenophobia, calling aliens "Xenos" may be considered Xenophobia I suppose, but 1. The humans don't really know what to call the aliens (This is a first contact scenario after all) and 2. It's just a term. No malice is intended. The aliens are just _outsiders _as far as humans are concerned.

Also, keep in mind that the humans in this fic are not members of the Systems Alliance. The SA doesn't even exist here. I replaced them with extra-galactic humans with a very **non-western** culture, and make no mistake, by Western standards, most non-western cultures can be described as very "Xenophobic."

However, I wouldn't use the term Xenophobic to describe Dune humans. Instead, it's better to describe Dune humans as _tribalistic, _which is how most of them behave even amongst other humans. Remember that the Fremen in the Dune series are based on Arabic culture, and they were portrayed as having a very tribal orientation. _We take care of our own._

Finally, remember that in the Scattering, there is no fixed state system. Humans are now high-tech nomadic space barbarians, and how do nomads and stateless peoples behave? They behave tribally. So there's your answer.

* * *

Where are they?

Where is the Power of the Protheans?

Where are the Armies of the Inusannon?

Where are the Fleets of the Oravores?

Where are the Warriors of the Thoi'han?

Where are the Lords of the Zeiophs, the Kings of the Zha'til?

Where are the Warlike Ditakur, or the Pretentious Synril?

So answer me, where are they?

They are gone.

They have had their aeons of glory, their time in the sun.

Their banners had flown, their fleets had traversed the stars, their armies had marched through a hundred worlds.

But now?

They are gone. Their banners have burned, their fleets lost, the bones of their armies are no more.

They have had their time, and now it is done.

They had been destroyed by the Reapers, the Devouring Machines. Their legacy is gone, save for the hushed whispers of the stars.

But what of us?

What of us?

We are Humans.

We are not Inusannon or Oravores or Protheans.

We are not Ditakur or Synril or Thoi'han.

We are Humans.

A millennia for you is a great expanse of time. For us a short chapter in our history.

Aeons ago, before you knew the stars, we were already old.

Our Golden Path has existed long before your kind were born.

And we shall continue long after you are all gone.

\- The Illusive One Speaking to "Ghola" Garrus Vakarian (1)

* * *

_"Tell me about the skies of your Homeworld, Tevura..." a strange male voice asked, half menacing, half erotic. _

_Tevura Tsoni, daughter of Liara Tsoni and Garrus Vakarian could not answer. She could only scream out in horror, for Thessia burned. Her skies were colored red and grey, and they smelled of rotting flesh and shattered machines. Thessia's daughters had been devoured by the Reapers. Her memory lost. Her legacy and pride brought low. _

_Tevura felt this; felt the darkness in the depths of her soul. Thessia burned, just as Palaven, Surkesh, Tuchanka, Rannoch and all the other home worlds burned to ash and flame. This had happened long ago. She only heard of it from others, but it had happened long ago. _

_And yet... Here she was witnessing the bloodbath that had happened. Was this a dream, or was the future a dream? Tevura couldn't tell. It felt so real._

_She then saw the Crucible activate, and inside it was her father Garrus Vakarian. She saw the great weapon as it slaughtered many of the Reapers, a weapon of desperation, but a potent one nevertheless. She saw the great machines fall down like chaff... _

_But not enough. _

_The Crucible was half finished when it was activated and it didn't exterminate the machine completely, and even now there were still more than enough of them left to exterminate all life in the Galaxy. _

_"Hello Tevura," her father greeted her. She wondered at this, for he took on the form of a young Turian boy._

_"Dad?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Why are you a child?"_

_"Oh that... Well, the Cerberii... you see they..." The rest of his words were muffled and incomprehensible. He spoke for a long time and with some weariness. Tevura wanted to hear his words, but could not hear anything, just vague whispers, as if he was far away._

_Garrus was soon replaced with a vision of her mother, weeping as others wept. They were huddled in pathetic little bunkers, clutching each other as the inevitable doom approached. _

_"I am the hope of both organics and synthetics... You cannot escape me," a powerful voice proclaimed, a being of energy and light. She tried to peer into it but all she could see was oblivion. The darkness gripped her, devoured even her dreams. The screams of hundreds of fallen alien races murmured pleas in the depths of the void. _

_Tevura screamed to the goddess for Salvation, to Athame, to her ancestor-mothers, to alien gods and even to demons, but they did not answer, and she was left with Reapers, the pitiless machines staring at her pathetic form, with monstrous eyes and voices that pierced her mind. _

_"Tell me about the skies of your Homeworld, Tevura..." the voice asked again._

_The Reapers were then replaced by something else, an Asaroid-like being. Male? Perhaps. It stared down at her broken body, buried among the ruins of the Aras Sanctuary. Behind the creature stood others like it. They stared at her like pitiless shadows, their eyes blue in blue. They terrified her, but they also bore a strange attraction. _

_They spoke in a strange ancient tongue, older than the Protheans. Their eyes stared into her, willing her to share her secrets. Tevura resisted, but she failed, and soon they were inside her mind, her thoughts... _

_But she was also inside theirs..._

_And she saw a great golden river of light floating across universes and galaxies. These creatures, these aliens with blue in blue eyes and terrible powers flowed in this river. They were eternal and endless, and she saw the miracles that existed beyond time and space. She saw their visions and their dreams, and she saw their power..._

_"That is the Golden Path, Tevura... Do not be afraid. Take my hand..."_

_But Tevura could not... and the darkness devoured her._

_"Tell me about the skies of your Homeworld, Tevura..." _

* * *

And then Tevura awoke...

"Well now... It looks like the Warrior Princess is awake at last," said a female Turian voice. "For someone who's supposed to be half-dead, you sure make a lot of noise in your sleep."

"Nyreen...?"

"Yeah kid. Welcome back. You okay?"

Tevura got up, shook her head and stared at the face she thought she'd never see again. Nyreen was an old Turian warrior, but at the moment she looked like shit. Her arm was heavily bandaged by some unknown material, and her face bore the signs of stress and fatigue. Nyreen had been a soldier, a gang leader and a merc prior to the Reaper war. Rumor had it that she even knew the late Aria T'Loak, and at one point, had even been a Turian warlord in the Terminus Systems.

During the fading days of the Citadel, when the Reapers had begun their purge of the galaxy, she and her band of pirates and mercs had joined up with the rest of the Galaxy to fight the Reapers. They fought as irregulars, as scouts and as infantry... To no avail.

Years of blood and sacrificed followed in the wake of her decision. After the failure of the Crucible to eliminate all of the Reapers, Nyreen along with various irregular combat units were either turned into marines or as security forces for the recently built Sanctuaries, deep underground bunkers that acted as glorified refugee camps to house the millions of refugees retreating from the worlds that had already been devastated by Reaper attack.

No one wanted to say it, but the Sanctuaries were an admission of defeat. They were holes in the ground in obscure, barely explored planets, meant to hide what was left of the Citadel's once massive galactic population. Nyreen didn't like her posting. She was a warrior, after all and not a baby sitter, but she accepted was given to her, and over time she got used to her new role. She even became somewhat of an authority figure for most of the Sanctuaries inhabitants, including Tevura.

When Tevura's shock had worn off, she realized that she was no longer in the Aras Sanctuary, but on a small cot in some unidentified structure. It took her a few more minutes to realize that she was no longer even in Aras. The building was a pre-fabricated barracks of some kind, and _it was definitely alien_. The walls were lined with some kind of crystal-like material, nothing at all similar to any of the materials the Citadel used.

She lay on the lower bed of a double bunk, one among many, arranged in neat little rows with lockers and cabinets not far away. The temperature of the room was fairly cool, but not cold. Tevura was going to say something, but the shock of her new surroundings kept her from forming a coherent sentence. The only thing that she could do was to hug Nyreen tightly.

"You're alive!" Tevura said in a half-sob, her voice filled with surprise and relief. Nyreen had been like a mother to her, and many other children actually. The Aras Sanctuary was full of refugee children whose parents were either dead or who had opted to stay behind to fight the Reapers.

"You're alive," she repeated, as if fearful that she was dreaming. During the initial hours of the Reaper attack on Aras, Tevura saw the Sanctuary command post overwhelmed by hordes of Husks, killing off most of the command structure before they could warn the rest of the Sanctuary of the attack.

Nyreen had been in the command post. It was chaos.

Tevura remembered her shock when she, along with the rest of the security force, stared in horror at the devastation that the Husks had unleashed on their home. The scorched flesh, the terrible sounds of Reaper indoctrination, the lights and screams, the agony and fear. Memories of the battle went through her mind like a blur. Friends and family, beloved for decades, dead in an instant. Then she remembered the tunnel, of being buried under rubble, of her friends screaming her name and the hulks being cut down like so many toy soldiers.

Aras. What had happened to Aras? She suddenly remembered the twisted bodies of friends, of family, of little children. Little purple colored Susa – she and her parents didn't reach the escape ships in time. Loud mouthed Keraph, the 3 year old Salarian, who always bragged about how his father's cousin's friend personally knew the late Mordin Solus. Eager little Merala, a beautiful little Elcor if ever there was one – torn in half by Reaper swarms. Kalo, the little Hanar who wanted to be just like Blasto, the famous Hanar spectre from the vids. Tevura remembered how the invading armies had destroyed her home – the home that she hated so much until she lost it.

Sensing her questions as well as the chaos within her mind, Nyreen answered her unspoken question, "I was buried in the rubble during the attack, just like you. The husks left me for dead... Thankfully, _our friends _rescued me, and so here I am."

Tevura smiled, tried to say something but couldn't find the right words. She just stared at Nyreen.

"Well? Say something."

Tevura shook her head, and for a moment, she almost looked like Liara, her mother. "I... I'm just glad you're alive, Nyreen." And she hugged her again even harder.

"You too kid. You too. Though I have to say that you had us scared for awhile too."

"What?"

"You were pretty messed up when the aliens found you, but the spirits decided they didn't want you to ascend to the heavens just yet."

"Heh. Yeah well, I'm a pretty tough bitch," Tevura answered with her old cocky self, but she paused for a moment and something Nyreen said sparked memories of the attack on Aras. "_Aliens?_"

"Yeah, the aliens," Nyreen said with some humor. "If I didn't know better I'd say they were related to you."

"This isn't funny, Ny."

"Who's trying to be funny? They really do look like the intergalactic cousins of the Asari."

She remembered what she saw in the tunnels, but it was all a blur. "I didn't get a good look at them. So you'll have to let me in on the joke."

"Huh? Well, your loss then. Some of the other Asari really do seem to like the aliens. Maybe once you're all healed you can go join them at trying to seduce our captors"

"That's nice Nyreen. Poke fun at the girl with the broken leg. How about you tell me more about the aliens?"

"Heh. Well, at least your sense of humor is back," Nyreen said. "There's not much to say really. The aliens evacuated those of us who couldn't get off the planet, gave us food and medical care, and then shoved us here. At least, that's what the others said. I was as fucked over as you were when they got us off Aras. We're currently inside one of their ships. Spirits! This thing is even bigger than the Citadel."

Tevura shook her head, and she focused on the situation critically. She was impatient, and wanted to know as much about the new situation as possible, but she also knew better than to ask whatever questions entered her mind. _Be patient. Focus on the important things first._ "How many of us did they save?"

"213. Mostly those of us who stayed behind to cover the evacuating ships... And before you ask," Nyreen held up a clawed hand to silence her questions. "Most of our people left Aras' orbit. If the spirits are generous, they'll be able to link up with a Citadel fleet."

Tevura's face hardened and she asked, "How many didn't make it?"

Nyreen sighed and considered lying to her, but her Turian sense of honor quickly quashed the desire. "About a quarter didn't make it. The Reapers were using stealth countermeasures." Nyreen's own face then became as grim as Tevura's.

"Goddess." The Aras Sanctuary held about 15,300 refugees. When the Reapers first attacked Aras, most of those refugees left the planet's orbit via evacuation ships armed with optimized stealth fields. The possibility of a Reaper attack had been anticipated early on in the construction of the Sanctuary, but there was no such thing as a perfect plan.

A quarter of failed evacuation attempts meant that 3,000 souls had perished attempting to escape the slaughter, with the rest given no assurances of survival.

"Don't think too much about it, kid. That's just the way things are."

Tevura looked at her, wishing she had something to say. Instead, she could only tighten her jaw.

"Come on. You've been asleep for too long. It will do you good to talk to the others."

* * *

As Tevura left the barracks, what greeted her outside overpowered her senses. They were in a relatively large area, even bigger than most of the living areas in their Sanctuary at Aras. It was about the size of a large park. There were other small housing buildings spread around the area, mostly barracks structures similar to the one she came out of. It was spacious with ample lighting, and its shape was that of a perfect cube. The walls, ceiling and floor were made from some kind of exotic metal that she had never encountered before – grey but with a strange luminosity – almost like crystals.

However, it was not the area that awed her. It was the artificial environment. The place was an extremely sophisticated greenhouse of some kind, with all kinds of plants and greenery. Fruit bearing trees and shrubs were all over the place and there were even a few alien insects hiding among the shrubs here and there, but no animals. The lighting and temperature were also very good, better than anything she'd had in the Sanctuary. Tevura didn't know what to make of the situation, but she was certainly overwhelmed.

The greenhouse was nothing like anything she'd ever heard of, and she wondered what it was doing inside a star ship. _It could be for oxygen production. _Tevura curled her toes on the grass underneath her feet, reveled in its feel, and soon remembered that she was wearing a simple white long robe (clearly given to them by the aliens), just like Nyreen. She felt odd not having her hardsuit, but it was a tolerable situation.

High above were strange little objects that seemed to her like giant security cameras. As they tracked her movement, she came to the conclusion – _Yep, definitely cameras. _

The way the entire space was constructed, however, she imagined that it used to be a storage area of some kind. For what, she was not entirely sure of though. It was just that their new temporary home did not feel like a proper prison. There was simply something off about it, like it was meant to do other things other than confine things or people in.

This would have felt like a cramped little refugee camp with around 200 beings inhabiting it, but the area was simply quite large. _Is this a cargo ship or maybe a Luxury Liner? A luxury liner? Really Tev, what's wrong with you?_

Tevura was awoken from her ruminations by the joyous calls of her friends.

"Tev! Tev!" Vero, her best friend, called out, and Tevura saw the Quarian run up to her along with her friends from the surviving Aras security force. She wore a simple purple suit, but she was tall for a Quarian and her voice was kind, gentle even. "Keelah! You look good! Nothing at all like the mess we dug out in the tunnels."

"Vero! I'm glad to see you alive," Tevura said as she hugged her. They exchanged simple banter, and the kind of hugs that close friends share after decades of parting. And after them, the rest of the team crowded around Tevura, greeting her and being happy that she was alive.

"Wux. You're looking good," Tevura said to a hulking, but soft-spoken young Krogan.

"Tev." Tevura waited for more words, but Wux only nodded and allowed the others to greet her.

"Good to see you alive you flat little bitch," said an older Asari maiden, her hips and breasts larger than Tevura's, and she had a way of standing that could provoke irritation even from a Hanar.

"You too Kalos," Tevura said. "Although I'm surprise you didn't try to fuck the Reapers to death during the battle."

"Heh, those rust buckets couldn't handle me, Flattie." Kalos was a loudmouth Asari with a reputation for having a good aim and a loose _virtue. _She was also _one of those types of Asari._

"Well, I'm just glad to see you alive... though you seem to have put on weight since the attack."

"Heh. Not as much as you, Flattie."

"Children! Let's leave the jokes for later, okay?" warned Nyreen with her serious voice "Right now, I'm sure everyone's just glad that Tev isn't dead."

Tevura shut her mouth immediately, a little bit embarrassed at the situation, as the rest of her team, mostly Asari and Turians, closed in to wish her well.

"H-h-he-hello, T-Tev," stammered a young Turian boy, about a head shorter than her. He was the last one to greet her. "I'm glad to see y-you okay."

"Heh, you too Fail," Tevura poked his forehead with a warm smile and the young Turian boy backed away, embarrassed and stuttering to himself. "And thanks for saving my fat blue ass back on Aras." She then gave him a hug, which only caused him to stutter harder.

His name was Faelus, nicknamed Fail, and not only was he the rookie, he was also the squad fool. Too short, too shy, too frail. Everyone was sure that he'd die in the first wave, but to everyone's surprise the little stuttering Turian boy actually did pretty well during the invasion.

The other refugees, clustered together in groups of three to seven, looked on as the team had their reunion. They knew better than to interrupt, but they waved to Tevura with warm smiles and companionship for a fellow survivor of death and doom.

Tevura waved back to them, but the the reunion happened like a blur. She was back from the dead, and she couldn't believe that she was on an alien ship. One moment dying on an abandoned planet, and now she and her friends were having their very own first contact scenario. It was enough to give a girl a headache.

* * *

When they have had their joyous reunion, Vero told Tevura everything that she had missed during her rest. It turned out that only a few days had passed since the fall of Aras, but despite their misfortune, most of them seemed to be more than happy to have survived. The survivors of Aras were not soldiers, nor were they diplomats, politicians or scientists. They were kids - most of them anyway - and in a situation, like this, they didn't really know how to react to their situation.

In general, most felt relief at being saved, but on the other hand, they also had mixed feelings about their timely rescue by the aliens. Most were, of course, naturally scared. They were in a strange ship, crewed by a strange alien race that, if their theories are correct, came from beyond the limits of the galaxy.

Vero and Nyreen told Tevura all of this under bright artificial light and the gentle touch of the grass, with Wux, Kalos and a few others making a comment or two here and there. They all wore the same white robe she wore, and they seemed strangely happy. Despite their unusual situation, they were still alive, and that counted for something.

However, Tevura wanted to go back to beginning, to Aras. She wanted to know precisely how many made it out to the evacuation ships, how many died and how many were unaccounted for. The humans saved 213 refugees from a total of 15,300. She wanted to know what happened to the rest. So everyone gave her their own accounts, both the messy and the ambiguous.

Everyone knew why she did this. She needed to talk. They all needed this. Talking makes them stop thinking, about what happened and what will happen next.

"It wasn't your fault Tev. It was no one's fault," Vero said, her voice heavy with sadness after Tevura settled down and got used to the situation.

"No, it was the Reapers fault, and I swear by the Goddess that I will make them pay," Tevura hissed.

"A lot of people say that these days, kid," Nyreen added.

"Yeah well, I'm Garrus Vakarian's daughter... and I have these idiots to back me up," she jabbed a thumb at her friends. Nyreen rolled her eyes, but kept quiet.

"Yeah, but first we'll have to deal with the humans," said Wux, breaking his silence, at the back of the crowd. Wux doesn't say much but when he does, it's always with a very deliberate purpose, and in this case, he seemed to want Tevura to remember the situation.

"The what?"

"The aliens – They call themselves humans. Can you believe it?" Faelus interjected, breaking his silence too now that Wux gave him the precedence, then added in a fanciful voice, like those seen on old Salarian science fiction movies. "Wooo... The Humans from the Pla-net HUUUUUME."

"That's a stupid name for a planet," retorted Wux.

"Well, why do they call themselves human then huh?" Everyone just raised their eyebrows at him. Clearly, his companions had no taste in good jokes. "I'll just be quiet now."

"The humans..." Vero explaied, "are the name of the aliens who saved us. Oh they're quite incredible Tev. They look very Asari-like..."

"Galactic Space Cousins," said Nyreen offhandedly, which caused Tevura to smirk at her in annoyance.

Now, that the cat was out of the bag, the topic of the conversation turned to the humans. Vero did most of the talking, with Nyreen and Wux giving some helpful details and Kalos making a few lewd comments. Fealus cracked a couple of lame jokes but everyone chuckled respectfully.

"So humans... Giant ship. Saved a bunch of us from the Reapers," and she would have added _but couldn't be bothered to save everyone else._ "What else do I need to know? Aside from the fact that we seem to be in some Horny Maiden's idea of a Sci-fi movie."

"Oh, what are you whinning about? The Quarians kinda look like us, the Drell too. Sorta," retorted Kalos. "So what if these humans look like they came out of a poorly imagined science fiction romance drama. They saved our hides... Saved by hot aliens from beyond the galaxy, and their beautiful alien prince will wed me, and I shall become Kalos, Asari warrior princess."

"Your sense of humor sucks, Kal."

"Keep up that attitude missy and you're not going to make a good impression on the humies."

"Uh, really, Kal? Way to play into the stereotypical horny Asari role," said Tevura.

"More for me then."

"Uh! You were saying Vero?" Tevura said to the female Quarian, who then continued her exposition about the humans along with some of her own observations. According to Vero, they only had a brief encounter with their rescuers on Aras, when they saved them. After they were brought to this holding area, however, they've had seen a lot of the humans for past few days.

The humans would enter their holding area from a hidden entrance in the ceiling, while standing on floating suspensor platforms. They would just float around in a small area, letting the refugees get a good look at them before leaving. They never initiated contact, and they always left very quickly. It was clear that they were trying to help the refugees get used to their appearance before they do initiate contact. With their motives for revealing themselves clear, the refugees became a little more relaxed with their routines.

No doubt the humans are now pondering what to do with their captives, and this made the refugees more than a little edgy. Still, it was an interesting experience, and considering the circumstances, Vero and the others had observed a lot of interesting things about the aliens.

The humans, as they called themselves, were creatures of contradictions. On the one hand, they were utterly alien. Most of the refugees had observed their fighting prowess on Aras, how they attacked husks and swarms in melee – _MELEE!_ _Who attacks Husks in melee?_ \- using weapons so exotic that they required a different military doctrine – monomolecular bladed weapons that could cut through the hardest metal, shields that could withstand the particle beams. And their speed! No organic being had ever been seen to move like them.

On the other hand, they resembled the Asari in body and facial structure, but instead of blue skin the humans had strange tan or pale or pinkish flesh with soft (and some Asari maidens would argue attractive) furs on their heads. They also had colorful eyes: Blue within Blue, Green within Green, and some Blue, Green, Brown, Grey and Black against White Sclera.

Vero's words, however, were interrupted, by some commotion. The refugees were rushing towards a particular area.

"What's going on?" asked Nyreen.

"The humans! The humans are here!" A Batarian said.

"Like on the suspensors?"

"No, they're on foot. I think they want to make contact with us!"

"About damn time too," added a Salarian.

Vero, Kalos, Faelus and Wux followed the others to the now growing crowd of refugees at the far end of the area from where they were having their talk.

"Well kid," Nyreen said to Tevura. "Looks like you woke up just in time.

* * *

The human delegation was small and consisted of about a dozen individuals. About half of them looked to be like soldiers, grim faced warriors who wore heavy plate armor, while the other half wore sombre robes of grey and black. They almost all seemed to be male, with the exception of a female who wore a long and elaborate black robe. The female was dark haired with tan skin, and she looked at them with a mixture of curious intelligence and knowing wisdom... as well as twisted humor.

The refugees regarded the delegation with curiosity even as they kept their distance. When a young Elcor attempted to walk up to the humans, Nyreen, who was the defacto leader, held her back, and told her to be patient. Both groups knew that this was a delicate situation, but even so, the excitement was palpable. The Aras refugees chattered amongst each other excitedly in front of the aliens, an act that would have horrified the Citadel diplomatic corp had they been present.

"Look! That one has golden fur! Almost like molten sunrise. I wish I could touch it, just to feel what it's like," an Asari maiden had giggled to her companions.

"And that one! Look she has those bright blue in blue eyes, like an exotic Varren. How silly they look," her young Batarian companion chuckled. The refugees chuckled among themselves like this, observing the humans with unbridled curiosity, just as the humans – mostly Mentats and Sardaukar – observed them.

"I wonder why they look like that... so Asari-like I mean," another Asari maiden wondered.

"Really? They sort of look like Batarians to me," the same Batarian female said, "though with 2 less eyes of course. But observe the shape of their arms..."

"So... These are the humans. I think I shall have one or two," giggled another hormone addicted Asari maiden.

"Annoyance and Amusement. Can you not think about sex at a time like this?" complained their Elcor friend.

Of course, not all of them looked at the humans as curiosities. A good number also remembered their technology, mostly the potency of their weapons and how they managed to destroy one of the Reapers that had attacked their Sanctuary at Aras... and how they are another potential threat to Galactic life.

"... With their help, we could finally defeat the Repears," a Drell said to his companion as he eyed the human delegation carefully.

"What makes you think these creatures are our allies? It's equally possible that they are the scouts for a much larger invasion force, an invasion force that also wants to wipe us out," a Turian refugee said.

"Agree. Situation premature. Require further data to ascertain 'human' intentions and goals," a Salarian had added. "Technology, however, remains interesting. Very interesting..."

"Well, let's say that they do want to invade the galaxy. They haven't killed us yet. That's certainly worth something. Surely, that proves that they are not worse than the Reapers."

Now, that the humans seemed ready to talk, all of the questions that the refugees had came bubbling up at the forefront of their thoughts. _Where did they come from? Why did they come here? Why did they save us? Will they help the Citadel? Why did they come to Aras? Are they fighting the Reapers? Are they friend or foe?_

* * *

The humans were very patient. They allowed the aliens several moments to get used to their presence before making their move. The refugees were clearly irritated at the waiting, but they knew the necessity. For both sides, the whole situation was like meeting an unknown and dangerous predatory animal, and such events require extreme caution. For even though, they've met the humans before, they've never actually _interacted or spoken _with them.

Up until this point, they were a mystery.

"Hey look. _Goldie_'s coming closer," Kalos called out to her friends, as one of the humans, apparently the leader left his party and approached the refugees. Kalos' descriptive name for him was rather apt, because of his reddish, golden hair.

"Goldie," the human who stood before them was resplendent in military pagentry. Tevura gasped in surprise when he was up close. The alien did look like an Asari – a male Asari with light tan skin and, she had to admit, _exotic _golden red fur on the top of its head. Tevura felt confused and more than a little wierded out. Some of the other Asari giggled when "Goldie" came into view, and quite a few other females as well, before giggling to each other about the exotic creature in the strange military uniform, pointing at him.

Goldie saluted the aliens, and not just Tevura's party particularly, with a clenched fist to the head, while the others behind him were content to simply observe. To their surprise, the human began speaking to them in heavily accented Havala, which had been one of the major languages of the Asari Republics, _back when Thessia was still under Asari control_.

"Welcome. I welcome all you. My name _Faradan Ibn-Corrino Al-Korsig Shepard, Lord Burseg of the Red Dragon Legion, Sardaukar in Exile, Lord Captain of the Normandy, Descendant of Harq Al Ada, Corrino Prince and Ghanima Atreides, Atreides Empress. _This ship. Brazil. Human ship. We sorry we no save others... From Aras... Your Friends Family, but too many. Danger to us and to other things. But we assu-" he chatted briefly to the woman behind him and nodded. "Yes, we assure you that we mean no harm. We not like machine. We no hurtings you. We saving-life you from machine. We ask trust, and you stay with us. For short time. Little time. Then we return to people – your people. Please excuse poor language speakings. Just start learning Asari a few days ago. Thank You."

The Aras refugees looked at each other, a thousand questions exploding into their minds, but at this very moment, they were simply speechless. Each one wanted someone else to ask the first question, to make the first move, so that he or she could voice her own question. The aliens had made their move, and it was now their turn, but they were all too scared, cautious and wise to take the leap. They wanted someone else to take their lead.

And someone did.

"Um, hi. A... Are you really aliens?" The extremely retarded question came from a Turian boy. Everyone looked to Faelus who carefully lowered his claws. "I... I just want to c-confirm."

_Goldie_/Faradan turned to the female and asked her to Translate the Turian's words.

"Yes," Faradan answered.

"Okay," Faelus nodded.

Now, that the first stone had been cast, the rest of the refugees were now more willing to ask a few of their own, and where there had once been silence, there was now clamoring excitement.

_The questions ranged from wise..._

"Where are you from?"

"Why are you here?"

"Why did you save us?"

"Will you help us defeat the Reapers

_To the completely retarded..._

"You have tentacles, don't you? Don't lie to me! Show me your tentacles!"

"Are you going to probe us? You're going to probe us aren't you? I knew it! You sick monsters!"

"If you're going to probe us, can I go first? I'm really into that. Oww! What?"

One Asari even shouted, "Hey! Your kinda cute!"

This lack of discipline would have horrified the Citadel Council's diplomatic corps, but most of the refugees were kids, kids who just had their homes blown up, and their families and friends killed or lost. And here they were thrust into an adventure with Asari-like aliens. Many of them did not really understand their situation, of course, and quite a few preferred to pretend that they were in an exciting adventure.

Tevura felt like she was in the set of a cheap science fiction, but even she was swept up by the situation. She then felt Nyreen's clawed hand grip her arm.

"Relax kid. Relax. We're making history today," she said smiling to Tevura.

Soon the rest of the human delegations came forward, and soon they were speaking with the refugees of the Aras Sanctuary. Tevura felt overwhelmed at the situation. Only a few hours after waking up, and she was meeting with extra-galactic aliens.

But something else entered Tevura's mind as she watched the humans, a memory of a dream. She remembered the words very clearly, but couldn't quite understand what they mean.

_"Tell me about the skies of your Homeworld, Tevura..." _

* * *

1 - Almost forgot to add this brief note. This particular quote comes from an fictional story called: The Revival of Rhomaion: An Age of Miracles by Basileus 444.**  
**

The original words were:

"Where are they?

Where are the Kings of the Goths?  
Where are the Khans of the Huns, the Khagans of the Avars?  
Where are the Lords of the Bulgars, the Chiefs of the Cumans?  
Where are the Caliphs of Baghdad, the Shahs of the Persians?  
Where are the Doges of Venice, the Sultans of Konya?

So answer me, where are they?

They are gone.  
They have had their hour of glory, their time in the sun.  
Their banners have flown, their tents pitched, their armies covering the countryside.  
But now?

They are gone. Their banners have burned, their tents crumpled, the bones of their armies littering the countryside.  
They have had their time, and now it is done.  
But what of us?

What of us?

We are Romans.

We are not Goths or Huns or Avars.  
We are not Bulgars or Cumans or Venetians.  
We are Romans.

A century for you is a great expanse of time. For us a short chapter in our history.

A thousand years ago, before you knew letters or God, we were already old.  
Before you were even born, we were already here.

And we shall be here long after you are gone."

AN: The Aras Sanctuary is not the only one of its kind. There are other Sanctuaries scattered all over the galaxy, and they aren't so much attempts to repopulate the dwindling population of the aliens in the ME galaxy as they are desperate attempts to save as many civilian refugees as possible. It's not a good plan nor is it even a smart one, but it's the only one the Citadel has left, and they have no choice but to take it.

Remember that in this story, the Citadel's main forces are already in full retreat. Retreating fleets and armies cannot take care of refugees. They needed to store their non-combatants somewhere, and that somewhere were the Sanctuaries.

The Sanctuary idea was actually based on the Prothean idea of cryogenically freezing their best and brightest in the hope that they will be able to survive until the next cycle, hidden away inside underground bunkers. The same idea applies to the Sanctuaries in this story. Imagine the vaults in fallout. It's kind of like that, except without the experiments.


	4. Chapter 6

"Let them run and hide anywhere they want in any universe they choose"

\- Leto II, the God Emperor

* * *

Even after the passing of countles centuries, we still remember the lessons of the Butlerian Jihad:

'_Thou shalt not make_ a machine in the likeness of a _human mind' _

I speak of this now to share with you our own experiences with what you call "synthetic intelligence."

You must understand that the Butlerian Jihad was not just a rebellion against AI. No, it was more than that. It was, in truth, a rebellion against Machine Logic; against causality and against the presupposition that infinity is reducible to quantifiable symbols on a piece of paper or numbers on a computer terminal.

The Jihad was a bloody period of human history but it was also an instinctive lashing out at something that humans have always felt in the depths of their being: That life is not about rationality or logic, and that the highest expression of life is raw unbridled fury.

Machine Logic is the antithesis of this. It is an a priori concept at the base of every civilization, and it is a condition that leads to stagnation.

What you call Synthetic Intelligence is merely machine logic given form and expression. The Jihad - the Holy War - of our ancestors, however, went deeper than the form. It attacked its essence: Artificiality.

The essence of Artificiality is serialization. It is self-replication without any change or meaning. It simply manipulates matter in cycles, just like your Reapers. It is a self-referential movement within a shallow frame of reference, like a blind man moving around in circles. In short, artificiality is stagnation. It is death. It is coming together. It is, to use sweet words, "cosmopolitanism" and it is mass production.

I tell you these things to help you understand the nature of that which threatens you.

Don't you see? The Reapers, the Geth and all the "Synthetics" you so fear are extensions of your own states of being. A mind which insists upon a mechanistic universe, ruled by causality, technological manipulation and sameness ultimately becomes a machine itself.

The Reapers are the twisted reflections of all the civilizations that they had destroyed.

\- Lord Burseg Faradan Shepard

* * *

There had been a time... A time when we all thought that our civilization could overcome anything, do anything. Little did we know that this was hubris.

We thought that we could overcome the Reapers if only we came together. We thought that if we could just put aside our differences, and _believed, _that we would win. Some how, some way, a higher force will reward us for coming together, for overcoming our prejudices and divisions.

Well, we all came together, and we all fell together...

Not even the Crucible could defeat the Reapers. Fate - it seems - cared little for dreams...

Coming together was not enough, and now we are at edge of extinction.

\- Liara Tsoni, Journal Entry - 2201

* * *

Her name was Jak, just Jak...

And she is an Honored Matre...

Or more accurately an outcast Honored Matre...

Jak been born to one of the many Honored Matre warbands that infested the Scattering. Splintered into thousands of different fleets after their empire was torn asunder by more powerful human factions, the Honored Matres became a scattered wandering people, though no less dangerous. Some wandered into small galaxies, while other delved deeper into the infinite multiplicity. There were even rumors that one faction managed to find a path back to the Old Imperium, to humanity's mythical cradle galaxy, but none of this mattered. They, like all other human groups, had been scattered into numerous splintered groups.

As for Jak's own tribe of elite Hormu Honored Matres, they managed to survive working as mercenaries, tagging along with whatever human fleets needed their services. And life was good as a mercenary. Jack remembered well the joys of her early life: the destruction and slaughter. She remembered the screams, the adrenaline rush of violence mixed with sex. It was during these moments that she felt truly human, truly whole. She even fondly remembers the numerous males (1) that she had _taken, _their essence filling her, even as she forced their females to watch her pleasures... Before killing them all.

Yes, Jak had been many things throughout her life, a soldier, a prostitute, a thief, an assassin, but at this very moment, she was a spy. Jak had entered her current occupation after she had been expelled from her Honored Matre Cell for a crime that was not even really a crime among the Honored Matres:

She had seduced her immediate superior's husband...

And her 17 year old son...

And her 21 year old male concubine...

All at the same time...

Jak couldn't figure out why the old bitch had been pissed. All the Honored Matres did that sort of thing all the time after all, but when her superior found out, she threw such a hissy fit that Jak found herself escaping into uncharted space before she could even figure out what the big deal was.

Well, after several months of wandering about, Jak was eventually forced to take up work that was fitting for outcast Honored Matres: She became a mercenary. She worked as a bodyguard, as an assassin, as a saboteur and occasionally as a prostitute. She did this for several years, meeting several people along the way, and improving her already potent abilities.

The pay for this sort of work wasn't good, not in the Scattering, but the hours were short, and she got to enjoy the best things in life for an Honored Matre: war, sex and big explosions. It was all the same thing in the end. Even after the maturation of the human species, there were still certain factions that reverted back to the old ways, to the violent tendencies of humanity's youth, and Jak was among those who possessed such atavistic tendencies.

She craft was sudden death, her talent deadly subterfuge. If knives and poisons were like music, Jak would be the composer, and for a long while, the outcast was content to be a cutthroat for hire.

This all changed when she got her biggest break several months ago when she was contacted by an anonymous client, asking for someone who had all the necessary cloak and dagger credentials, and then some.

Needless to say, Jak was among the top contenders for the job, even though she didn't like doing any of that "skulking around shit." In her line of work, reputation mattered, and she had quite a reputation among her former clients. So much to her own surprise, Jak soon found herself being considered as one of the candidates for a contract that would put her inside a Mentat ship, the Brazil to be exact, in order to become a spy there.

Rumor had it that the Mentats and the "Sardaukar-in-Exile" were sending an exploration fleet into a strange Galaxy. This in itself was nothing unusual. Humans in the Scattering encounter strange things all the time, and in an infinite universe, exploration was the most common work for all of humanity. So there was nothing particularly special about finding new galaxies. What was special, however, was the rumor that the Cerberii, a suspected Tielaxu offshoot, was involved; and that they had found some kind of alien substance, a substance which can alter mass. There were also rumors that this new galaxy was home to non-humans!

Non-humans! Now, those were quite rare. Despite the enormity of the Scattering and access to an infinite number of universes, humans still only rarely encountered other sapient species. This alone was what made the whole thing interesting, and this made Jak a little more interested.

So after a long screening process, as well as a few "accidents" to her potential rivals, Jak got the job, and her new anonymous client made it clear that subtlety was critical in her success. He/She also made it clear that if she messed things up, she was dead.

Jak couldn't help but snort at the threat.

Fortunately, the job was simple enough. Go into the Brazil and spy on her crew. No questions asked. If she finds anything useful, she would record her findings onto a Ridulian micro-crystal, which she will then deposit in specially marked areas around the Brazil. This last part implied that her employer was another Mentat, or a person pretending to be a Mentat, though who she couldn't guess who.

It didn't matter to her though. Someone clearly wanted to know more about the Brazil's operations, and Jak was going to be their eyes and ears. New discoveries usually meant a lot of loot, and she liked looting. A lot.

And so Jak became a spy. It was pretty boring at first, but she was getting paid in grade A spice and tech, and that made everything worth the hassle.

Now, Jak was not a particularly good spy. In fact, she pretty much sucked at it, but what she lacked in specialization, she more than made up for versatility. Aside from her less than stellar stealth skills, she was also a fairly good assassin, but more importantly, she was very good at blowing things up. These skills gave her a niche of sorts among the various warring human factions in the Scattering, and gave her a steady source of income, aside from the usual killing and raiding. These skill sets, she surmised, are probably what got her the job in the first place.

Her contract would last as long as the Brazil's mission, which is to say that she will only return to her old life once the Brazil goes back to the Scattering. This didn't bother her though, for her job was easy enough, and sooner or later, all humans returned to the Scattering. Spying on a bunch of weakling Mentats was one of the easiest work she ever did.

Her employer had given her a special identity. She was to pose as a Mentat engineer in one of the more isolated areas of the Brazil, the waste disposal modules to be precise, where she would have the least amount of interaction with the rest of the Brazil's innumerable crew. Jak liked that. She had never been the talkative type anyway.

Most of her work mostly consisted of spying on the personnel, keeping an eye on anything out of the ordinary, and occasionally planting miniature cameras and laser mics in non-descript locations. Boring stuff really.

But boring stuff rarely last very long, and after several months of fiddling her fingers, she soon got the change of pace that she wanted.

Without warning, Jak was suddenly asked to sabotage the Brazil's Synth Trout Colonies, or more specifically those Synth Trouts which are used by the Lord Mentat Stravan ? She was never given a reason, but then again, she didn't care. This sabotage mission was clearly an assassination attempt, and she liked that part of her work. So she did as she what any good assassin-spy would do, and obeyed her orders before going back to her spying routine.

It was only later that she learned that the Lord Mentat had some "equipment failure" during the Brazil's rescue of the Xenos on the planet called "Aras." _A pity_, she thought, _but it wasn't my fault that the plot failed. _She played her part to the letter. Whoever her employer was, he or she will have to come up with better assassinations in the future.

Following the failed assassination attempt, she received another message from her secret employer. The order read:

_There may be a problem. Keep low. They may suspect your presence. Don't do anything for now. _That was the entire message. Dammit!

So Jak did as she was told, despite her chagrin. She returned to her normal routines, which involved avoiding Mentats and carrying out tasks that would least reveal her true nature.

However, after about a week since her last transmission, she recieved a new message with a new set of orders...

Along with several relatively small packages the size of her fist. When she unwrapped these, she immediately recognized what they were: Toxin Packets. No Smell and No Color, but powerful enough to kill any living creature in a nine yard radius.

The attached message read: _You have a new mission. Disregard previous message. Install these packets in the converted agri-module where the Xenos are staying. Kill Them All. Avoid Detection. Do Not Fail._

Jak frowned. Her last two messages seemed to contradict each other, and she felt that something was _off _about things, like she was being used like a disposable pawn. This was one of the problems with taking Anonymous Contracts – too many unknowns, but the Honored Matre in her shook off such hesitations, and she forced herself to focus on her work.

The fact that she was in a dangerous and risky position never entered her mind. For Honored Matres, danger was like sex. The more, the better, and she thought: _If her employer wanted the Xenos dead then they're dead._

* * *

"So remind me again where we're going?" Nyreen asked the human male who was leading her and her companions. They were presently riding one of the suspensor platforms the humans seem very fond of, speeding at relatively high velocities. In many ways, the suspensor platforms reminded her of the mass effect vehicles that had been used in the Citadel, with the sole difference that they didn't use mass effect, but instead relied on something called, "The Holtzman Principles." Naturally, the refugees asked about this technology, eager to learn about such wonders, but the humans, as seems to be their nature, politely declined to give them any answers, not even a general answer.

"To the Lazad Pens, milady," answered Mentat Kaidan Alenko. He was dark haired and toughly built; slightly tanned too. Unlike "Lord Burseg" Faradan Shepard, Alenko spoke Palavanis, the main Turian language, instead of Asari Havala. He also seemed to have a much better head for languages as his grammar was impeccable even if his voice lacked the characteristic twang of a normal Turian tongue.

"Some of the other Mentats thought that you and the others might like the change of pace."

Nyreen grunted an affirmative, and she chuckled at the "milady." She was no spirits-damned lady! She also didn't know what the hell a "Lazad" was, but was willing to wait for the answer.

Nyreen looked at her three companions to make sure that they were okay. They were all quite disciplined, and knew how to keep their mouths shut. There was Ovon Ba, who had been the Volus chief Sanitation officer of the Sanctuary. There was also Hecodus, another Turian, but a quiet one, who had been in charge of communications, and Tevura, who was brought along because Nyreen insisted that she have an escort, and they all accompanied Alenko to the "Lazad pens." With the sole exception of Tevura, who hadn't even been invited at all, all three had been invited to the pens were major officers. So everyone knew that this was more than just a "change of pace."

This was something that the Aras refugees had learned fairly early about the humans: They were supremely devious creatures. In some ways, they were even more devious than the Salarians, who were already quite devious to begin with. And there were other epiphanies as well…

In the days that followed their little "first contact," the thoughts of the refugees were filled with topics relating to the humans. Like before, their hosts built trust through a slow, but steady routine. The human delegates, a mixture of "Sardaukar" and "Mentat" (whatever the hell those are) representatives would enter their area and speak with them for about 1 to 2 hours about trivial topics, leave and then repeat the whole process in the next 7 hours or so.

In some cases, the humans would also gather the refugees in groups of between 4 to 12 members and give them guided tours in some of their ship's "modules," massive self-contained environments designed to do specific tasks, like food production, water recycling, manufacturing or even entertainment. This routine allowed the refugees to get used to their hosts, and accept certain aspects about them. It also tricked them into making certain assumptions, assumptions that could be exploited later on by the Mentats. It was basic conditioning, and it was working perfectly.

Based on these impressions, the aliens surmised a few important things about the humans. First of all, they all seemed to have a holier than thou attitude. It wasn't particularly Xenophobic but they did act in a way that made the refugees feel like they were young children compared to them, almost the way how Asari Matriarchs behave in the presence of younger species. There was a patronizing subtext in how they acted, and there something about the humans that made them feel _primitive and uncultured. _Of course, this was just a feeling. Nothing the humans did overtly suggested anything of the sort. And yet...

Next, there was the unusual human tendency of evasiveness. Those who came to talk to them always used general statements which could be interpreted in multiple ways. Likewise, any answers or statements the humans made had several layers of meaning. The Salarians were usually the first ones to pick up on this, but as the refugees had more and more contact with their hosts, they began to suspect that this evasiveness was part and parcel of their species. They concealed their true selves, just as vigorously as they concealed most of their technology.

They were a secretive race.

Finally, the refugees noticed the concealed violence that their hosts possessed. The humans behaved in a calm and measured manner, there was senuous grace in the way they moved, but underneath it all, was a predatory tendency that they all felt at the depths of their cells. The Turians and Krogans noticed this first, or rather their instincts noticed it. Underneath their haughty exterior lay clues that they were creatures of casual violence, but their violence was of a subtle kind, and it wasn't even violence per se. It was more like how nature is violent – impersonal and utterly pitiless. It was the kind of violence that did not know fear, pain or mercy.

Aside from the routines, the refugees also soon learned that around a hundred thousand or so humans lived inside their "No-Ship." It was a staggering number, but the size of the entire vessel disproved their doubts. The refugees didn't believe them, at first (they were evacuated from Aras without getting the chance to see the Brazil from the outside), but as it turned out, the Brazil really was approximately 37 kilometers in diameter. They already knew that the ship was big, but they had no idea just how big. The enormity of it was staggering, but all the clues that were presented to them disproved all of their doubts.(3)

They also learned that their quarters had previously been one of the many agricultural modules of the Brazil, one of the many places for growing food for the inhabitants of the ship. The Brazil (and as they would later learn, most human ships) were designed to be self-sustaining environments, basically mobile artificial planets rather than actual ships. This was the reason why they were so big. They were designed to sustain a nomadic space faring race as they traversed infinity.

The need for raw materials and energy requirements were addressed by viciously harvesting planets, asteroids and any source the humans could get their hands on, but all in all, human ships were designed to be self-sustaining constructs, perfect for their creator's nomadic way of life.

They had done this for about a week, and it has certainly built up a lot of trust. Even the Turians and Krogans, who were distrustful of the humans grew relaxed to them due to these actions.

The Asari and a few of the Quarians talked about their culture, their mannerisms and their… appearances. The Asari pondered and speculated more and more about their hosts, based on the few answers and clues that they received from their contact with them. Now that they were willing to speak with the refugees, the Asari indulged their own genetic proclivities by asking as much as they can about human culture and history.

On the other hand, the Salarians and the Volus were fascinated by human technology, particularly their fold-space FTL drives, which did not rely on element zero and which seemed to operate on a radically different understanding of physics. They were also eager to learn about their weapons, their VI's, their engineering marvels and anything else that entered into their rapid firing heads. So when the humans declined their inquiries, they were suitably annoyed.

Some of the younger refugees wanted to pester the humans for more information, but they were overruled by the more conservative elements of their group, mostly Turians and Volus. The humans did not behave in a very xenophobic way, mind you, but they were quite secretive… Very secretive.

In the end though, everyone agreed that patience was the better part of virtue. After all, the humans had shown themselves to be relatively trustworthy despite their secretive and somewhat mysterious nature. The refugees argued that they will eventually learn more and more about their hosts if they are patient, so there was little point in insisting for more.

Mentat Kaidan Alenko eventually brought the Nyreen and her company to another cube-like greenhouse module, the suspensor platform powering down in a gentle humming sound. This module, however, did not house agricultural facilities, but instead was home to several massive dens for very large animals. At first, Tevura thought that the animals were some kind of giant cattle, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that the animals were predators. When Nyreen and her companions got a closer look of the animals, they were rather surprised by what greeted their eyes. The creatures were some kind of gigantic white furred canine/feline hybrid. The creature growled at them ominously.

"What are those things?" demanded the Ovon Ba in Palavii, scandalized, and at the same time terrified by the massive creatures that could swallow him whole in one gulp.

Kaidan faced the Volus, and calmly said, "They're just Lazads." He didn't add anything. He was pleased by their reaction, for this was according to plan.

"Don't be afraid," Kaidan said assuringly. "None of them will hurt you." He then whistled at the Lazads and they backed away from the Nyreen and her companions, and returned back to their resting areas, where they lounged around and licked themselves contentedly.

There was nothing natural about the Lazad. Genetically engineered from a combination of Laza Tigers, T-Wolves and a whole host of other monsters that humanity acquired in the Scattering, the Lazads were a biological weapon; a monstrosity designed to thrive in the most hostile environments. Lazads can eat almost anything that's alive, and their bodies can render even the deadliest poisons harmless. They could also survive in tundra, deserts, mountains, open pastures, tropical climates, urban ruins, volcanic wastelands and even landscapes which have been bombarded by radiation and biological contaminants.

These animals possess a dangerous cunning as well as a intrinsically predatory instinct. A young Lazad can travel up to 47 km/h, and can hunt, kill and fight for up to 34 hours without rest. Its jaws have a power of 21,000 pounds per square inch. Its claws were sharp enough puncture various types of metals, and its muscles are strong enough to tear apart a full grown Krogan without any trouble. And they become more powerful as they age.

Most human factions used them as mounts.

Kaidan didn't say it, but the Lazad pens were one of the few places on the ship that did not have any Comeyes, which meant that it's also one of the few places on the Brazil, which didn't have _overt_ spies, which in turn meant that it was one of the best places to have secret meetings.

"Why did you bring us here, Mentat Alenko?" Nyreen demanded, now deeply suspicious.

"To have a discussion."

"About what?"

"About the Omni-Tools."

Nyreen and the other refugees had complained to their hosts about the confiscation of their Omni-tools. The humans took them away, along with their weapons and gear soon after their evacuations from Aras. They even took away most of their food rations and clothing away, giving them food, medicine, clothes and other supplies from their own stores. Somehow, the humans even managed to produce the dextro-amino foodstuffs that the Turians and Quarians needed.

"Ah! Right! Well, couldn't we have that in a place that isn't filled with giant scary Varren-like things!" Hecodus complained.

"My apologies, sir. I just thought you and your companions would enjoy seeing some of our _pets_. After all, you've been stuck in one of our agri-modules for so long that you would prefer something a little... different," Alenko said, lying.

"A little less dangerous would have been better!" Hecodus answered before becoming quiet again.

"Oh, they're quite harmless. Don't worry. Now, if you'll just follow me." Alenko led them to a small conference area which consisted of elaborately carved stone furniture. There was also the smell of perfume nearby, which was used to cover the smell of Lazad pheromones and urine. As they sat down, the Lazads eyed them hungrily, which made the group even more nervous.

"So… when can we expect to get our Omni-Tools back?" It was Nyreen who spoke first, unwilling to be intimidated by the situation, and who felt that Alenko was using these _creatures _to intimidate her and her companions.

Kaidan was surprised by such directness, but nothing on his face indicated that he was caught off guard.

"Soon," Kaidan answered.

"Define 'Soon'" Hecodus retorted.

"When we're ready to return you to your people."

Nyreen, Ovon Ba and Hecodus looked at each other, and knew instantly that something else was going on here. Kaidan only smiled.

"And when is that?" Nyreen asked.

"When it's safe," Kaidan answered with the same calm voice and smile.

Nyreen began flashing her teeth to Kaidan, a Turian mannerism which indicated irritation. Kaidan was aware of his, but kept the frozen smile on his face.

"Men-tat Alenko," Nyreen began cautiously, but she didn't bother to hide the irritation in her voice. "We followed you here under the impression that you wanted us to discuss something important. So far, however, the only thing you've managed to prove is that you don't want to discuss anything. So I don't see why…"

"Miss Kandross," Ovon Ba interrupted politely to quiet Nyreen, his Palavani perfect. He had been the scion of a major Volus executive of the now defunct Elkoss Combine, and had been raised to be a good negotiator and leader, so he knew that she was making a diplomatic mistake.

"Forgive her, Mentat-Clan… hiss… but she is very tired. Aren't you madam… hiss?"

Nyreen grunted in response, and at the back, Tevura couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, these past few weeks have been very difficult for us. Yes, hiss... very difficult indeed, and I hope you would give us the patience that humble guests deserve. Naturally, none of us have forgotten that you and your people are our most gracious hosts... hiss... and we fully acknowledge your kindness... hiss... to us. So whatever topic you wish to speak of, we would be more than eager to accommodate you. Won't we?" he asked his companions, who dutifully nodded their heads in obedience. Ovon Ba's ass kissing abilities were impeccable, and he began a long monologue about how everyone was grateful to the humans for their hospitality.

Nyreen, Hecodus and Tevura closed their ears to his droning voice, but understanding the necessity of it. Ovon Ba kept talking for another five minutes or so, and most of his words consisted of nothing but empty flattery.

Alenko, seeing the obvious diplomatic overtures, graciously accepted the placating words, and engaged Ovon Ba in several minutes worth of small talk, much to the chagrin of the Volus' companions.

"I thank you, good sir," Kaidan said, cutting off another tirade from the Volus, while closing his ears to the compliments, knowing them to be empty gestures. "You are much too generous, but as I've said, I brought you here to speak about the Omni-tools. Those were my orders. Your gracious compliments are more than I deserve. So if you have any questions about that issue, I would be more than eager to answer them. If I somehow offended you," he looked at Nyreen, humble and at the same time, patronizing, "then I apologize, but I will try to answer your questions to the best of my abilities."

"I have one."

Surprised, Kaidan turned his attention to Tevura, the uninvited guest. "Yes?"

"What are you doing with our Omni-Tools? And while we're at it, what have you done with the rest of our equipment?" Tevura asked calmly. Ovon Ba looked back at her then to Nyreen, angry at both females for being so... antagonistic to the aliens.

"We are analyzing them," responded Kaidan with the same evasiveness. _I could do this all day, he thought. _

"For?" Tevura knew that she was probably going to get another evasive answer, but it was still worth a shot.

"For information."

"About the Citadel? About the Reapers? About our galaxy?"

"About Omni-Tools."

"Wait, so you've taken our Omni-Tools to gather information about Omni-Tools?"

Kaidan shrugged innocuously with a smile on his face.

"Well, that should obvious, shouldn't it?"

"If you need to know how Omni-Tools work, you could just ask us," Nyreen said annoyed. "Ovon, here, is even an expert on those things."

"Yes... hiss... I would be most eager to be of service," the Volus said.

"Ah yes, but that won't be necessary. You see, I simply brought you here to speak about our work on the Omni-Tools."

"Which is?" It was Hecodus who asked the question.

"That we are working on it?" Kaidan answered.

The Asari, Volus and the two Turians waited for more details, but Alenko gave them none. Instead, all they got was a stupid smile which proved that they were being played.

With her patience at an end, Nyreen snapped at Alenko, "So you brought us here to talk about Omni-tools, so that we can talk about your people analyzing our Omni-Tools?"

"That's a good summary of it, yes."

"Are you making fun of us," Nyreen asked this time, almost snarling.

"A little..." This prompted angry murmurs from all four of them, including Ovon Ba, who was eager to please the humans.

"If that is so, Mentat Clan... hiss," Ovon Ba said ahead of everyone, "then why?"

"I thought I already answered your questions. I brought you here to talk about the Omni-Too..."

"Stop it!" snapped Nyreen. This conversation was going around in circles, and she felt like Alenko was secretly laughing inside his head. Thus far, they had not encountered this sort of behavior among other humans; evasiveness yes, but not this! And this made Alenko's behavior all the more scandalous. _Breaking news! Extra-galactic aliens are dicks!_

"I'm afraid," it was Hecodus who spoke this time, "that we better return to our quarters. It appears that this whole affair was based on a _misconception_." The Lazads, who sensed the tension among their strange guests began observing them more intently, ears rising.

"Oh? A misconception about what, sir?" asked Alenko.

"About your purpose for bringing us here!"

"But I already told you that I brought you here to speak about the Omni-Tools."

"Great Spirits From Above!" Nyreen groaned in frustration. If other humans are as annoying as Alenko then there's going to be a lot of problems.

Nyreen was going to say something "emphatic" to Alenko, but her words were drowned out by hissing doorways opening and the footsteps of a dozen or so humans entering into the module. The Lazads sensed this too, for they quickly left their dens to greet their newly arriving masters. The humans – about a dozen or so in number – were quickly overrun by snuggling groups of fur, who in turn petted the hulking monstrosities with a special fondness.

"Peaaan shma! Peaaan(2)" _Down you! Down! _Their masters chuckled at their lovable furry killing machines.

It didn't take long for this newly arrived group of humans, however, to notice the refugees and Alenko, two of whom broke away from their group to quickly approach Alenko and the refugees. One of the humans raised his hand to signal the bodyguards to remain at a respectful distance, who followed orders and stayed behind near the door of the Lazad modules, playing with their _pets._

As the two humans approached, all four of the refugees recognized Lord Mentat Stravan Hackett, his calm and stoic bearing easily recognizable. Although none of them had personnel met Hackett yet, he was briefly introduced to the refugees as one of the leaders of this human exploration fleet. It was also explained that he had been part of the strikeforce that had rescued them in Aras, so all felt a certain debt of gratitude for the man. Next to him, however, was another Mentat that they had never seen before, a narrow faced man with a very serious and somewhat pinched face that found it easy to snarl.

Both humans walked up to Kaidan and spoke with him very quickly, with Hackett doing most of the talking. When they were done, Kaidan turned to Nyreen and her companions with a smile.

"Sirs and ladies," Kaidan said, "These are the Lord Mentats Stravan Hackett and Donal Udina. They are my superiors." The refugees greeted the new arrivals in the manner of their species, who returned the gestures with polite human greetings of their own. Hackett and Udina then said something to Alenko that made him nod his head his a couple of times.

"My Lords wish me to tell you that they were making surprise inspection of the Lazad Pens, and were not aware that I had brought you here. I apologize for the inconvenience." Kaidan then politely bowed to Nyreen and her companions and then to his superiors.

The gesture looked honest enough, but Nyreen knew that this had been staged. Suddenly, all the farce about the Omni-Tools made sense. They had not been brought here to discuss Omni-Tools. These two "Mentat" leaders wanted to talk to them... _secretly_. Nyreen had dealt with enough powerful people in the past to see that this had been staged from the start. The revelation excited Nyreen, and she was pleased by it.

_I wonder what else they're planning_, she thought.

Alenko and his superiors began talking to each other again, and the word "Omni-Tool" came up. Kaidan, with an innocuous, smile on his face translated that his superiors wanted to know what they were talking, and so he told them about their discussion (or more accurately, their non-discussions) about the Omni-Tools.

Udina imperiously cut off Kaidan's explanations with an impatient wave of his hands.

"Ma shdnd anha ra ba astfadh az jm'e awra atla'eat dr mwrd saarh shma, w bdn hmsaah an," Udina said. _We were using them to gather information about your planet, and its neighboring bodies._

Alenko quickly explained this, and this sparked the attention of most of the refugees. Thus far, the humans tended to avoid giving them direct answers. The fact that one of their leaders just admitted that they were using the Omni-Tools to scour it for data about Aras and its star system provided certain clues about their intentions.

"And what is it about Aras that interests you," Hecodus asked in his usual direct manner.

The one called Udina quickly turned his eyes to Hecodus, who in turn, regretted asking the question.

"That is not for you to know, Outfreyn!" snapped Udina. Kaidan translated this in a gentle voice, minus the _Outfreyn,_ but there was no hiding the wrathful tone in the original words. "If we wish to let you know something, we will tell you."

As if sensing the rising tensions, Hackett quickly raised his hand to calm his colleague and to speak with him about some important matter. This went on for several long minutes, during which Kaidan didn't translate anything about the discussions his superiors were having.

This made Hecodus very uneasy, for he soon asked Kaidan to translate what his leaders were talking about. However, Alenko didn't translate. Instead, he merely said in a grave voice that he had not used earlier, "If you value your life, you will remain quiet now. You will learn what you need to learn when the time comes." There was a clear warning in his voice.

The sudden change of pace made Hecodus very angry, and Nyreen too. Ovon Ba looked like he was wetting himself underneath his suit, while Tevura looked like she wanted to punch the humans for being a bunch of dicks.

_You're an edgy lot, aren't you? _Tevura thought, and Udina's behavior rather surprised her. The humans who met with her and her companions were normally very polite and courteous (even when they were being dickish or secretive), but not Udina. There was a sense of urgency in him and also in Hackett.

Both looked at the refugees intently, and then seated themselves across them. They briefly chatted with Kaidan, before facing them again. This time, it was Hackett who spoke first.

Kaidan translated his words quickly. "Lord Stravan Hackett asks if you wouldn't mind a quick digression from our topic?"

"Why, of course... We are their guests after all." To everyone's surprise, it was Nyreen who spoke this time, her voice suddenly gentle. She met Hackett's calm eyes. Like Alenko and the other Mentats, they green within green eyes, a side effect of the sapho-based narcotics that Mentats consumed in order to keep their mental powers from becoming unstable. (4)

To Nyreen, they seemed terrifying, but she forced herself to hold her gaze and maintain a calm smile. "What do our hosts want to know?"

Alenko translated Nyreen's words, but neither Udina nor Hackett listened to him. They already knew what Nyreen said. They simply pretended not to know her language in order to maintain a linguistic barrier that they could exploit in their favor.

Hackett quickly spoke to Alenko, who quickly translated his words. "My Lords wish to know a few things about Aras, and its local star system."

"Oh! Hiss... I can answer your questions, good sirs," Ovon Ba said placatingly, and then he launched into a long winded exposition about certain basic facts about Aras and its star system. Boring, worthless stuff really.

Udina and Hackett listened attentively for a little while, but they soon interrupted Ovon Ba.

"My Lords thank you for your eagerness Sir," Alenko translated with a smile on his face, "but I'm afraid, we are not really interested about the generalities.

"Oh, and what are you interested in?" It was Nyreen who asked the question this time. Behind her, Hecodus and Tevura fidgeted uneasily.

Udina smiled at the female Turian and answered. "ma 'elaqh mnd agur shma hr cheaza 'ejab w ghrab dr mwrd saarh khwd ra mtwjh shdh am." _We are curious to know if you've noticed anything strange about your planet._

Alenko translated this, which in turn caused Nyreen to frown.

"What do you mean_ strange?_"

Udina said something, and Alenko quickly translated: "Just answer the question! You probably know more than you think."

Nyreen clenched her fists, repressing the urge to punch Udina and Hackett.

Instead, she said in a calm voice, "We can't tell you anything if you don't tell us the details."

This time, it was Hackett who asked the question.

"According to some of your Omni-Tools," Alenko said, translating Hackett's words, "the Citadel Council carried out several high security investigations on _your_ star system during the early periods of Reaper War, most notably the planet called Despes (5) We want to know why."

"Before I answer that," Nyreen said nervously, but with steely determination, "may I know why you're so interested in Aras and its star system? Why not ask us about the Citadel, or even the damned Reapers? Aras is a barely habitable wasteland. Despes also, and the same is true for all of the planets in that system."

Udina and Hackett looked at each other, frowning. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers and almost seemed like they were having an argument. Both Mentats argued with each other, but ultimately, Hackett overruled whatever arguments Udina was making and then spoke quickly to Alenko, who seemed surprised by what the older Mentat had said.

"My Lord says, 'it's because our allies, the Cerberii' are interested in Aras.' So naturally, we are interested as well." This excited Nyreen. The humans just revealed another one of their secrets.

"This Cerberii? Are they a different species?" Nyreen asked

Udina and Hakett laughed at this (it was a fake laugh) when Alenko translated her words. Alenko then quickly explained that the Cerberii are merely a different human faction, but aside from that though, he gave no further details. Nyreen wanted to know more about these "Cerberii" but she also knew that asking too many questions was not a good idea at this time, especially considering how Udina reacted to Ovon earlier. However, she still felt the need to ask one very important question.

"And why are the Cerberii interested in Aras?" Nyreen asked.

Udina was about to say something, but Hackett quickly overruled him, and signalled Alenko to join their conversation. All three humans looked like they were debating her question, but Nyreen felt that it was more than that, like they were worried about something. She wished that she could understand their strange gibberish for it would clarify a lot of things about their intentions.

When they had finished whatever it was they were discussing, Alenko turned to Nyreen and casually said, "They are interested in the Leviathans."

This genuinely surprised Nyreen and her companions. The Leviathans were largely a myth in the Citadel. They were the supposed creators of the Reapers, and millions of years old. Specter Garrus Vakarian, and his team, had supposedly encountered found these Leviathans on Despes during the early days of the Reaper incursion, but there was no actual proof for this. Not even Nyreen who had, at one point, known Garrus knew for sure the truth about the Leviathans. The truth, if there was truth, was known only to the highest echelons of the surviving members of the Citadel Council...

And they were not in Citadel Space.

"The Leviathans?" Hecodus asked increduously, while Ovon Ba did his best to hide a chuckle.

"Is that what you were doing in Aras? Looking for the Leviathans."

Hackett said something, and Alenko dutifully translated it. "My Lord says: 'Yes and no, but that's none of your business.'"

Nyreen frowned at this, but she didn't need a clear answer. The fact that they were curious about the Leviathans meant that whatever the humans were looking for were related to them. This excited her, and she quickly resolved to answer the original question.

"Mentat Hackett, Mentat Udina," Nyreen said cautiously. "I don't know much about the Leviathans. To us they are just a myth, a rumor, but if you are curious about them, then I will tell you what I know."

Nyreen then began telling Udina and Hackett every rumor she had heard about the Leviathans, mostly those that had not been included on the Extranet. Hecodus and Ovon Ba also chipped in what little they knew about the Leviathans, eager to see how the humans would react to the information.

According to the rumors, the Leviathans possessed the natural ability to influence the behaviors of lesser-minded organisms to the point of complete physical and mental control, an effect that was somewhat similar to indoctrination. They were also rumored to have been telephatic, and they possessed some kind of innate organic quantum entanglement ability which stimulates neural activity.

The true history of the Leviathans was completely unknown, but it was rumored that they were at least a million years old. At one point, the cranks said, their empire dominated the entire galaxy, and they ruthlessly enslaved other sapient life to serve them.

Alenko, Hackett and Udina absorbed all this information with a great deal of satisfaction. Like all Mentats, they craved data, and this was certainly new data.

Nyreen was about to tell them about the theories that said that the Reapers were created by the Leviathans, but she was cut short. There was some kind of altercation near the entrance to the module from where they entered, and soon, another group of humans emerged from the doorway.

These humans, however, were not Mentats, but Sardaukar. They wore armor, and carried many of the strange and exotic weaponry that had been deployed during the rescue on Aras. The Sardaukar were led by a strange looking human female in black, but strangely informal-looking robes. All of the refugees recognized the human female. She had been part of the original delegation of humans that initiated contact. However, unlike the other delegates, they had not seen her since. She had left as quickly as she had arrived.

The new group of humans waited at the entrance, their way barred by Hackett and Udina's bodyguard. The female waved to Hackett and Udina, and both Mentats looked like they were very furious. Hackett then raised his hand to one of his bodyguards to let them through.

_How did the Witches find out about this? _Udina thought furiously. _The plan was perfect! How could they have found out?_

Smiling, the female went forward on her own, leaving her own bodyguards close to the entrance with the Mentat bodyguards. As she came towards them, several Lazads went to her side, demanding that she scratch their ears, which she was more than happy to provide.

As she came closer, Tevura noticed a few things about the female's face. She had strong, sharp features and a tanned skin. Exotic black fur fell on her shoulders, and her eyes were blue in blue. There was something very mysterious about her, and at the same time, dangerous. She also walked in a way that made her seem like she was floating. (6)

When the female finally reached them, she bowed and introduced herself to Nyreen and her company.

"I am the Reverend Mother Ashla Illam, and I greet you in the name of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood," Alenko translated, but before Nyreen, Ovon, Tevura or Hecodus could say a response, she turned her attention to Udina and Hackett.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," said Ashla, her blue in blue eyes piercing but humorous. "My Lords Udina and Hackett, what are you doing here interviewing our guests? I thought we had an agreement that all interaction with the Xenos would be conducted out in the open or in areas where there are comeyes?"

"This isn't what it looks like, Reverend Mother," Hackett said calmly, but a muscle in the back of his neck was beginning to throb. "Udina and I were simply making a surprise inspection of the Lazad dens, and it just so happened that Alenko here," Hackett gestured at Kaidan who bowed dutifully, "was touring them around."

Ashla chuckled at this. "I'm sorry, milord, but that just sounds so contrived.

"It was a coincidence, Witch! A simple coincidence," snarled Udina.

Nyreen and her own group observed the arguing humans with heightened interest. They were clearly agitated and something was clearly going on. She just hoped that whatever it is they're angry about it wouldn't affect her or her people.

"Ah yes, of course. It was all a coincidence, but let's say hypothetically... just hypothetically, that a couple of Mentats planned all this. Let's say that these Mentats had ordered one of their subordinates," she looked at Alenko, "to bring some of the Xenos to the Lazad module, an area with very little monitoring devices. Now, let's say that at this very same time, these Mentats lead a so-called surprise inspection at the very same time module as a pretext to interview the Xenos without the knowledge of their allies and associates. If this were the case, their plan was poorly contrived and executed, filled with desperation and simple-minded scheming."

Hackett did not say anything, and his face remained stoically passive, but his jaw was clenched tight. As for Udina, he cleared his throat in the manner of a growl, and raised his eyebrow in the manner of a contemptuous teacher.

"That's... interesting Reverend Mother, but how does a hypothetical situation, like that, relate to our own?" Udina asked with a smile, hiding his fury well.

"Oh, absolutely nothing milord. I was merely thinking out loud."

"Well, that's a relief. For a moment there, I thought you were actually insinuating something."

"Insinuate? Me? Against you? Perish the thought, milord. I was merely pontificating. Although I am curious to know what you and the Xenos were talking about prior to my arrival."

"Omni-Tools," said Alenko.

"Omni-Tools," Udina repeated with a smile.

"Oh! That sounds harmless, boring even."

Yes, quite. Well, I suppose we should all return to our routines," Hackett said quickly, eager to put this aborted mistake behind them. "Come along Donal. We have other..."

Ashla coughed.

"Yes, Reverend Mother?"

"Oh nothing, My lord. I am certainly eager to go back to my work, Lord Hackett, but since Alenko over there were touring the Xenos," she waved a hand at Kaidan, "your wife and I thought that maybe we could tour them around too. After all, they have never visited the Bene Gesserit quarters yet."

Udina and Hackett frowned at this. They had been caught trying to acquire information from Xenos using duplicitous means, and the fact that they have been caught just added insult to injury.

Udina grunted at her request and quickly left ahead of Hackett. As for Hackett, he looked at the refugees and then to Ashla and then to Kaidan. He knew that he was cornered.

"Don't worry milord," Ashla said, "unlike these pens, our quarters are filled with Comeyes, so we can hide nothing from you." This, of course, was a patronizing lie. The Bene Gesserits were very good at hiding things, particularly important things.

Hackett thought about this, trying to figure out what sort of plots which wife was up to. In the end, he decided to acquiesce to the request. "That's up to them to decide," Hackett said pointing at Nyreen and her group.

Ashla smiled at this, and then turned to Alenko, "You may leave us Kaidan... I can take it from here."

Kaidan looked at Hackett for orders, and the older Mentat nodded his head. Kaidan bowed to Ashla and went to Hackett's side, and both of them quickly walked towards the entrance, leaving the Xenos and Bene Gesserit Witch behind.

Nyreen, Ovon Ba, Hecodus and Tevura were now clearly confused. One moment they were talking about Leviathans, and the next moment, they were being greeted by this strange human female. To their surprise, the female then began speaking in Asari Havala.

"Greetings, my friends, I apologize for the subterfuge, but it is an old human habit, and old habits die hard." Her blue within blue eyes were happy as she read each face, "I greet you on behalf of the Mother Superior, Kasia Shepard..."

* * *

1\. For those of you who've never read Heretics and Chapterhouse, the Honored Matres were notorious for raping men. They were also capable of Matrix-style Martial Arts.

2\. The language is Google Translated Farsi. It's supposed to be a bastardized form of Gallach, which was an Indo-Slavic language. I added it to make the humans seem more alien to the audience.

3\. The average Guild Heigliner was supposedly around 20 km. No Ships, from what I can remember, were much bigger, and were designed to sustain its passengers indefinitely. Since the humans in the Scattering are a nomadic people, I imagined their vessels to be a cross between O'Neill Cylinders and conventional starships.

4\. I can't remember which book it was, but it was mentioned that some Mentats ran the risk of calculating themselves into a coma. Basically, they become so mentally powerful that their mind enters a permanent trance-like state where they're just calculating things inside their head. The "sapho-based narcotics" mentioned in this story is something I made up, and they're meant to prevent such accidents from happening. I just added the green within green eyes as something to contrast them with the effects of Spice addiction, which causes blue within blue eyes.

5 – Despes is 2181 Despoina, the Leviathan Colony. I changed the name since the original name was clearly of human origin, and in this story, the humans are interlopers from beyond the edge of the galaxy.

6 – The Bene Gesserit have been described to walk like this in God Emperor of Dune. They don't actually float, of course, but their muscle control makes it seem that way.

* * *

AN:

For those who don't seem to notice, all the human characters on this story are transplants from canon ME:

Kaidan Alenko is Kaidan Alenko

Donal Udina is Donnel Udina

Ashla Illam is Ashley Williams

Stravan Hackett is Steven Hackett

Faradan Shepard is Male Shep

Kasia Shepard is Fem Shep

Jak is Jack

Marandi Lawson is Miranda Lawson

And, of course, The Illusive One is The Illusive Man

Other characters will be added later, but it should be obvious who they really are.


	5. Chapter 7

"A REVEREND MOTHER WILL READ MY WORDS!

I BEQUEATH TO YOU MY FEAR AND LONELINESS. TO YOU I GIVE THE CERTAINTY THAT THE BODY AND SOUL OF THE BENE GESSERIT WILL MEET THE SAME FATE AS ALL OTHER BODIES AND ALL OTHER SOULS...

WHAT IS SURVIVAL IF YOU DO NOT SURVIVE WHOLE? ASK THE BENE TLEILAX THAT! WHAT IF YOU NO LONGER HEAR THE MUSIC OF LIFE? MEMORIES ARE NOT ENOUGH UNLESS THEY CALL YOU TO NOBLE PURPOSE!

WHY DID YOUR SISTERHOOD NOT BUILD THE GOLDEN PATH? YOU KNEW THE NECESSITY. YOUR FAILURE CONDEMNED ME, THE GOD EMPEROR, TO MILLENNIA OF PERSONAL DESPAIR.

MY WORDS ARE YOUR PAST,

MY QUESTIONS ARE SIMPLE:

WITH WHOM DO YOU ALLY?

WITH THE SELF-IDOLATORS OF TLEILAX?

WITH MY FISH SPEAKER BUREAUCRACY?

WITH THE COSMOS-WANDERING GUILD?

WITH HARKONNEN BLOOD SACRIFICERS?

WITH THE DOGMATIC SINK OF YOUR OWN CREATION?

HOW WILL YOU MEET YOUR END?!

AS NO MORE THAN A SECRET SOCIETY?!"

_-_ Leto II, The God Emperor (Etched on the walls of Sietch Tabr), Heretics of Dune

* * *

Commit the following lessons to heart, young Mentat. Thus far, you have learned the essential aspects of high dimensional mathematics, but now it is time for your next lesson: Chaos.

You do not exist in a logical Universe. Data and Rationality are useful tools, but when they become your goal, they will lead you to hubris.

Some of our foolish ancestors believed that they could tame Chaos, or even ignore its existence. They believed that they could create societies based on reason and logic. They believed that if they could just create the right system or the right market or the right social structure, that their societies could absorb any type of people, technology or idea; and exist beyond the powers of history, like an eternal motion machine which traps energy and never allows it leave.

But this is hubris, young Mentat. Politics and societies are not governed by reason, but by biases of the will. Existence is not reducible to quantifiable concepts, and neither are you...

So remember this lesson well, young Mentat, for it is a lesson essential to what you may become:

Your existence is not based on logic...

\- The Mentat Handbook

* * *

Specter Garrus Vakarian was a hero, a champion in a galaxy that was about to be exterminated.

But there were others who were like him, other heroes and champions. There was Urdnot Wrex, the now fallen Fallen Krogan Warlord whose bloodied hands saved billions. There was the Scientist-Spy Mordin Solus, whose works have allowed us to defeat the Collectors and understand Reaper Technology. There was the Drell Assassin Thane Krios whose silent sacrifice kept the galaxy safe. There was the Turian smuggler and gang leader Nyreen Kandros, whose exploits allowed many to flee when all hope was lost. There was my friend, Legion, who taught me how to examine my own life...

And, of course, there was Liara, who became the greatest Asari in the history of the galaxy. (Others would say that I too deserve a place next to these great personages, but really, I was just the tech geek)

The lesson from their lives is this: Behind the legend that was Garrus Vakarian were other heroes and other champions. If Garrus Vakarian had not been born, or if he had decided to stay in C-Sec, another one would have taken his place. That is the way of greatness and nobility.

Heroes are replaceable, but not the people from which they come from.

\- Admiral Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, Journal Entry - Date Unknown

* * *

Tevura exited the suspensor platform, feeling a little dizzy after the hour long ride, though Nyreen, who was right next to her seemed to be fine. Their journey brought them to a sparsely lit area that featured a small, but elaborately decorated black spire. The spire, they were told, housed the Bene Gesserit living quarters in the Brazil.

Unlike most of the Brazil's sub-structural modules, the Bene Gesserit quarters was comparatively small, simple and non-conspicuous. Nearby, stood something that she never thought she'd see inside a starship: Bas-relief carvings in rock walls as well as huge piers and columns arranged in chaotic fashion. The quarters were built into one of the more secluded areas of the ship, and featured very little in the way of traffic, almost like a secluded alley in a dark and elaborate city. Tevura couldn't quite describe it, but there was something strangely _disorienting _about this place, but she dismissed such feelings as nothing more than fatigue mixed with excitement.

The journey from the Lazad Pens to the "Bene Gesserit" quarters had been a lengthy one, and involved quite a bit of sightseeing. As they journeyed towards the lair of the Bene Gesserit Witches, Tevura and Nyreen saw more of the No-Ship's inner workings.

First of all, they were large, and secondly, they were elaborate. Nyreen wished that they had brough Vero along, because quite frankly, neither she nor Tevura knew much about engineering. But the size and scope of the No-Ship was enough to give them pause. Some of the Structural Substructures and Modules, for example, were almost as big as a standard Citadel Frigate. Furthermore, there was something strangely elegant about the general design human ship, which suggested a substantial amount of artistic mastery.

The innards of the Brazil reminded Nyreen of the Citadel, massive, and brimming with life. There was light everywhere, and even the hum of the machinery and possessed a certain musical quality. The suspensor flew high above most of the work areas, so Nyreen and Tevura only got a general look at things, much to their disappointment.

Humans, mostly Mentats, went about their tasks like workers insects, some riding suspensor platforms, while others traveled about on foot. Both the Turian and the Asari wondered how the humans managed to make such transports hover without the use of Element Zero, but they pushed away such thoughts as other mysteries and questions intruded into their heads: A strange looking device here; a piece of floating light there; a group of strange looking moving creatures skittering about in the shadows; and even a very grotesque looking sculpture half hidden away in the shadows.

"I wish you hadn't allowed Ovon and Hecodus to go back to the others. This place is giving me the creeps," complained Tevura as she stretched her legs.

"They wanted to leave. So I let them leave," Nyreen answered, and then added, "and if you remember, I told you to leave with them." Ovon Ba and Hecodus both decided to return to their quarters, completely unwilling to be subject to any further manipulations from the humans… And, if truth be told, both the elder Turian and his younger Volus colleague had grown a little afraid of their hosts/rescuers.

"And let you have all the fun?" Tevura said.

Nyreen snorted. "Based on what we've seen of them so far, I doubt that any of it would be _fun._"

Reverend Mother Ashla Illam, who had been their guide, overheard this exchange and mentally chuckled at the amusing impressions the Xenos had about her species.

"Please wait here. I will inform the Mother Superior of your arrival," Ashla said as she exited the platform, close behind Tevura and Nyreen. She then walked towards the spire-like structure with the usual floating-like gait of Bene Gesserits.

"Creepy," Tevura commented, pointing at Ashla's strange floating-like form.

"I know, but don't make any more comments like that. The last thing we need is to make our hosts think that we don't like them," she said with a heavy hint of irony.

As Nyreen and Tevura exchanged banter, five small humans, clearly children and all female, emerged from one of the many shadowy places of close to the spire. When Tevura and Nyreen saw them, both females couldn't help but feel affection for them. They looked like little Asari children, save for the unusual fur on their heads, their all-black robes and the pale color of their skins.

The little humans stared at both of them like observant animals, seemingly unsure as to how they should proceed. The children were a curious mix of focused calmness mixed with cautious intelligence.

"Hey there..." Tevura said in Havala, trying her best to sound nice as she approached closer, but the little humans backed away quickly.

They then spoke to each other in their strange gibberish, as if pondering to ask the strange blue alien a funny question. However, instead of making some childish statement, the eldest child walked forward a pace and said in broken, heavily accented Havala, "Be-ware of Wit-ches," before fleeing away with her sisters back into the shadows, beyond many corridors.

Tevura had been taken aback by this, and she looked to Nyreen for her opinion.

"Well, you heard them. Beware of Witches," Nyreen said with a modicum of amusement.

"Witches..." Tevura snorted, rolling her eyes. "They probably sent those kids in to mess with our heads... again."

"Probably," Nyreen said, and then followed it up with a grunt.

"Do you believe all that stuff about the Leviathans?" Tevura asked, wanting to change the topic.

"Never met one. Your father, Garrus, supposedly found them on Despes, but he never really spoke about it, at least not with me. If they are real then they seem to be doing a very good job at hiding themselves."

Nyreen mentioning her father made Tevura regret changing the topic, but it didn't deter her. "The humans seem to believe that they exist."

"So they do..." her voice trailed away.

"Ny?" The Turian didn't answer.

Tevura waited for Nyreen to respond, but the Turian was busy looking at the weird architecture of the entire ship, lost to her own thoughts. Tevura kept quiet as well and kept fidgeting until, at last, unable to restrain her unease she said: "Ny. I got a bad feeling about this."

Again, Nyreen remained quiet, and so the Asari decided to keep quiet, as her superior was clearly perturbed by something about the humans. Nyreen was clearly disturbed, and this caused Tevura to become disturbed as well.

After several minutes of uneasy silence, however, Nyreen finally said something. "Tev," she began uneasily and with great hesitation. "We need the humans." Tevura looked at her, surprised. "We need them to help us against the Reapers. Somehow, someway, we need to convince them to help us."

She looked Tevura straight in the eye, her face cold and determined. Tevura heard from Liara that her father's face was like that some times, especially during the height of the war - cold, harsh determination. Nyreen had just spoken what was in her mind since waking up to learn about the humans. It was also probably in the minds of the other refugees as well: _We must to ask the humans for help. _Tevura thought of this too, but was too afraid to say it. The humans were like a surreal dream: _An advanced alien race from beyond the galaxy, with technology to defeat the Reapers. _If they could just...

"You've seen their technology, kid, and what they've done to the Reapers at Aras. With them as our allies, we might... We might actually have hope." Her voice was heavy now, and there was a terrible sadness in her eyes. Tevura wanted to say something, but Nyreen turned away and returned to her contemplations. Tevura didn't know what to say to that. She swallowed up by the implications of what Nyreen had just said now that she finally said it.

What can she say? She'd been thinking about the same exact thing, but from what she had seen of the humans thus far...

After several more minutes of waiting, Ashla returned to them. "Sorry to keep you waiting. My sisters will see you now," she said smiling.

* * *

As it turned out, the Bene Gesserit Spire was not as small as they had previously imagined. Nyreen and Tevura passed through several shadowy corridors before they managed to reached the "Mother Superior's" quarters, and something in their intuition told them that the maze-like construction of these quarters was no accident, that it was designed to confuse and confound those who entered who were not welcomed.

Finally, they reached the end of a narrow corridor, and Ashla let them into a relatively large, but sparsely lit room. As they entered, they immediately noticed that there were several humans in the room along with several strange smells and noises.

Tevura tried to forget what the little humans had said about the Bene Gesserit, and instead of focused her thoughts on the architecture of the place. It was hard to see the precise details of the room due to the limited lighting, but she soon found out that the room was shaped like a miniature atrium. Special lights illuminated certain areas of the room, and highlighted certain items and decorations: A potted plant here, a strange looking asaroid looking statue there and quite a few other things that she didn't really know how to describe.

Nyreen's Turian instincts told her that there were many perils here, and her imagination conjured up images of poisons and daggers from darkened corners. They smelled exotic plants, as well as unknown smells and sounds. Skittering noises seemed to surround them and a strange humming music seemed to come from out of nowhere.

Nyreen was about to ask a question, but she was cut off as Ashla announced their presence to the humans in the room, who in turn quickly acknowledged their presence with slight bows. There were five of them it seems, including Ashla.

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Nyreen and Tevura noticed the faces of the different humans in the room. There were five of them, and four of them were female, including Ashla. They all wore black cowled robes, which hid their entire bodies, but revealed parts of their hair and faces. And they had blue in blue eyes. _Strange._

Due to the darkness of the room, and the darkness of their robes, these women looked like floating faces with blue demonic eyes to Tevura and Nyreen, and as each face smiled to them in greeting, both the Turian and the Asari felt a deep abiding fear and uncertainty in themselves: _Witches!_

Fortunately, the human male was a familiar face. It was Faradan Shepard, and he smiled to both of them as they recognized him. He then turned back to the human female he was speaking with, and bowed several more times to her and began speaking more quickly. Very soon, the other Bene Gesserits joined their conversation, and Tevura was very sure that they were talking about Nyreen and her.

The humans were seated on futons at various random parts around the room, facing an oval podium-like structure illuminated by floating glowglobes. This disturbed Nyreen and Tevura because Ashla led them to the center of this podium and made them sit on several futons and an elaborate looking rugs arranged on the platform. The light and attention of the humans made them both feel exposed, put on display; but both reigned in their discomfort and forced calm smiles onto their faces.

* * *

"That will be enough for today, Faradan. We will discuss your _dream visions _about this _Catalyst _at a later time," Kasia said to Faradan, as she watched the Turian and the Asari seat themselves before her.

"Yes, mother."

Shepard bowed and began to get up, but was bidden to remain. "Stay for awhile, my son. We will have need of you."

Faradan frowned at this. He knew exactly what she was up to. "Mother... If you wish to carry out one of your charades on the Xenos then I want no part..."

Kasia turned to her son with a stern but smiling face, a loose grey hair falling to the side of her face. "You don't have to do anything, Faradan. Just sit there and look pretty, like a young handsome prince. Now, be a good little Sardaukar and listen to your mother."

Faradan made a deep sigh, rolled his eyes and then swallowed his pride. He considered disobeying Kasia, but he knew better than that. Witches have a way of making you do things that you don't really want to do. So he merely did his best to stay comfortable on his seat. Straight-backed and somewhat stiff, like a _very annoyed prince_.

Kasia then turned her attention to Tevura and Nyreen, who did their best not to fidget or betray their inner anxieties.

"Aan ake lodt ast ta dore nhaat qadr bah ba tw shbt ma shwd." _It is a pleasure to finally speak with thee,_ Kasia Shepard finally spoke, with Ashla translating simultaneously. "_I would have met with you much sooner, but a certain old cunt sprayed Futar pheromones at me as retribution for a harmless prank that I played on her earlier_."

An older Bene Gesserit, a gray haired patrician looking woman, snickered at this.

Nyreen and Tevura looked at each other, unsure how to respond. _What's a Futar? _They wondered.

Kasia continued speaking, with Ashla translating. "_Oh! Where are my manners? Miss Nyreen, Miss Tsoni. I am Reverend Mother Kasia Al-Korsig Shepard. I am the long suffering Mother Superior of my very own, very small Bene Gesserit Cell... These are my colleagues, Reverend Mother Kharin Al-Chakwas," _the older human female who snickered earlier bowed slightly to Tevura and Nyreen, _"Reverend Mother Kelis Chamb'r," _a younger woman with soft features bowed low, but smiling, "_And of course you've met Ashla." _Ashla Illam smiled to both with a half nod.

"_And finally, this is my son, Faradan, whom you've also met."_ Faradan greeted them both in like fashion. Tevura was surprised that Faradan was _Mother Superior's_ son.

Nyreen turned to each of the Reverend Mothers and tried to imitate their form of greeting, while using the Turian language. Tevura did the same, and both of them said well-rehearsed greetings designed to impress certain things upon their hosts, like the fact that although they are grateful guests, they don't take lightly to manipulations.

Kasia ignored these words, and instead frowned internally. She had hoped for more Xenos to come, but that can wait. She knew that Udina and Hackett would attempt to speak with the Xenos sooner or later, and she knew that such an attempt gave her and her sisters the perfect opportunity and _excuse _to speak with the Xenos in relative privacy. _Relative privacy,_ Kasia reminded herself. She just wasn't sure how many they will want to take with them. Both mentats carried the Siona gene (1) which would have made them unpredictable _had they not been Mentats. _They had expected at least six, but Udina and Hackett only chose to interview four, and to make matters worse, those Mentats intimidated their guests, forcing the other two, the Turian and the Volus to return to their quarters rather than accept her invitation. Still, two was better than nothing, and she was eager to learn as much about these Xenos as she could.

"Mtshkerm. Mn khwshhalm keh shma dr peada kerdn khwsh amdad ma ra bh mal khwd hshtm," responded Kasia to Nyreen's courtesy. _Thank you. I am pleased that you find our welcome to your liking._

Nyreen was about to make a rejoinder, but she was cut off by a Ashla. "Please wait a moment Miss Kandros. Mother Superior has requested that she be allowed to consult her visions."

_Visions? _Nyreen wondered, and she looked at Tevura who looked a little confused as well.

Kasia and the other Witches had closed their eyes momentarily, including Ashla. They remained very still, but slight smirks seemed to be on all of their faces. Only Faradan, who looked very annoyed, had his eyes opened. He smiled to the Turian and the Asari to reassure them, even though his eyes demanded that they be cautious.

"They going to playings a prank trickings on yours," he said in his usual grammatically broken Havala. This comment only heightened Nyreen and Tevura's unease. "Don't worryings. They's do this to everyone, especially their own families. Bad habits. It harmless though... Most of the timings."

After a few more seconds, the Bene Gesserits opened their eyes again, and began speaking to each other very quickly. Faradan who understood all this rolled his eyes in annoyance. Ashla then began writing on a small piece of paper, smiling to herself and causing some her sisters to chuckle as she did so.

She folded this paper and then handed it to Nyreen, who accepted it with a frown.

"Don't open it yet, lady Kandros. That's for later," Ashla said as Nyrren tried to open the paper.

"What is this about!" Nyreen finally demanded in a stern voice and then directed her attention to Kasia. "Reverend Mother, I came here under good faith. Please don't make me regret that."

Ashla translated this and then translated Kasia's response to the Turian. "The piece of paper is merely proof, _dear Nyreen, _proof for something that you'll doubt, but that is for later. For now, let us return to where we left off."

Nyreen was very wary, but she knew that there was no point in being difficult. Still, she did not want to be played, and so she decided to take a bold approach.

"I take it you want to learn about the Leviathans too?" Nyreen asked, "like those "Mentats" who _accidentally_ encountered our _guided tour _of the Lazad pens?"

Ashla translated, and Kasia pretended to find her question humorous. Al-Chakwas and Chamb'r chuckled.

"Nh, 'ezaz Nyreen. Dr waq'e, mn nma khwahm bh shma hr guwnh swal bpersad. Mn shma dr aanja awrdh bh peaskh brkha az shma." _No, dear Nyreen. I don't want to ask you anything. In fact, I brought you here to answers some of yours._

Nyreen frowned at, unsure and cautious. Was this a trick? "Your people have been a little coy these past few days." The Turian accused.

"Most of the people that you've met in the past week or so were Mentats," Ashla said, translating Kasia's words, "We are not Mentats." The statement was vague, but was uttered in such a way that the speakers believed that they were self-explanatory.

Nyreen looked at Tevura hoping that the Asari would give her some counsel, but she looked just as confused as she was. "What's the catch, Reverend Mother?" Nyreen asked.

"No catch," Ashla translated, and the darkness made her seem like a floating ghostly apparition. "This isn't a formal meeting after all. We are just females from different species having a nice little conversation." She then looked at one of the spy cameras in the room, smiling, knowing that the Mentats were observing their little _meeting._

This did not concern the Witches for they had many tools of subterfuge. Even while translating, she was talking to her sisters in Bene Gesserit hand language, well concealed fingers that only her fellow sisters could see moved rapidly, replacing standard sound with visual hands symbols. Kelis, Kasia and Karin's fingers were also talking, a silent conversation which involved no one but themselves, even while Kasia spoke to the Xenos.

_The Xenos are uneasy, _Kelis fingers spoke, even as she remained silent, her fingers visible only to her fellow sisters.

_The young one, the Asari, thinks that she could outsmart us, _Kelis' fingers added. Look at the way she peers at everything around her. _Perhaps we should do something about that. _

_Easy now, sisters. We need to take things slow. Remember, these are not humans. We should not allow human assumptions to cloud our strategies._

_Agreed, _Kasia answered, even as she continued to speak pleasantries to Nyreen through Ashla, _We will use pressure later. For now, we need to make them feel safe... welcome._

_What do you have in mind, Kas? _Kelis' fingers asked.

_Well, I was thinking about what we've read about their species on their omni-tools, about how the Asari have a reputation for promiscuity, while Turians are stereotyped as prudes. _Kasia's fingers said, and she laughed a little.

_Oh ho! I can see what you're plotting. _

_Quite. Hopefully, this stratagem should allow us to observe certain key characteristics about these species. _

_Sisters, _Karin cautioned. _Let's be cautious. Remember, we are dealing with unknowns here._

_Of course, my dear Karin, _Kasia's fingers answered. _You old cunt!_

The women snickered at their own secret banter, and continued to observe their guests like hungry predators. Aside from their secret hand language, and their immense reserves of internal powers, the Witches also already knew how to speak Havala and Palavanis, as well as other major Citadel languages. It took Kasia and her sisters five days to master the main languages of all the Citadel species. Ashla acting as translator was only designed to make the refugees think that she doesn't know their words. This was intentional, for people tended to speak secret things if they think you don't know what they're talking about.

In fact, most of the humans had already mastered their languages – All of Them. It took the average Mentat 3 to 5 hours to master each major Citadel language by mnemonically imprinting the translation programs from their confiscated omni-tools directly into their minds, while the Bene Gesserit Witches, whose mental powers were slightly weaker, required about 10 hours using the same process. Only the Sardaukar, who were bred for war and conflict, had trouble mastering the tongues of their guests, but even so, every senior officers of the Normandy was required to learn at least one Xeno language… By order of High Bashar Javid Anderson.

This annoying periodic snickering that came from the witches puzzled Nyreen and Tevura, because they seem to come from out of nowhere. They felt that the humans were up to something but they just couldn't quite understand what they were. Nyreen thought about what the Witch had just said but she didn't know where to begin. Memories of her _conversations _with the Mentats was in her mind, and she was paralyzed by caution.

Sensing this, Kasia decided to give them some information, free gratis, just to get the ball rolling. She spoke long to Ashla, who nodded and smiled, even as her fingers flicked about unseen except by her fellow sisters. When Kasia had finished, Ashla turned to Tevura and Nyreen and began translating her superior's words.

"Perhaps it's best if we explain a few details about our presence here." Nyreen solemnly nodded her head once. "It all began with the Cerberii, a rather secretive faction in the Scattering. You do know what the scattering is, right? Good. It was the Cerberii who originally _discovered_ your galaxy, and apparently, they've found several things here which interests them."

"Like the Leviathans?" Nyreen interjected, and she didn't like the way Ashla said: _discovered your galaxy. _

"And the Machines... and various other things. We don't how they stumbled upon your galaxy or what their original agenda really is, but suffice to say, your little corner of _your _universe, attracted their attention. They spent several years secretly exploring your planets, learning about the substance you call Element Zero, about the Mass Relays, and about the galactic extermination which is presently taking place."

"And how did they evade Reapers?"Tevura demanded, suddenly curious by the new revelations, but she quickly regretted her comment when Nyreen flashed her eyes at her to be quiet.

Ashla turned to Kasia, but the Mother Superior remained silent. Instead, she instructed Ashla on what to say using her fingers: _General overview only. No details!_

Ashla continued: "Our No-Field Technology is very sophisticated even by the standards of the Machines. Thousands of years we have spent improving this technology. Though the Machines know of our presence, _they will not find us_." Ashla said the last part with certainty. Tevura wanted to argue about that last part but she kept her mouth shut.

"That's certainly impressive, and we should certainly discuss more about that later," added Nyreen, "but you were saying something about this _Cerberii?_" She clearly didn't want any digression from what she considered as the principle topic.

"The Cerberii's work involved many areas, many of which we don't even know much about," Ashla continued, but also pleased by the knowledge that the Turian was predictable in her eagerness, "but they eventually directed their attention to the Leviathans_."_ Nyreen and Tevura fidgeted at the mention of these creatures. They found it hard to believe that these aliens actually believed that the Leviathans were real. The Bene Gesserit sensed this, and so she added: "Whether or not you believe the Leviathans to be real, is irrelevant. The Cerberii believed that they exist, and they wanted to acquire one of their artifacts."

The mention of _artifacts _intrigued both Nyreen and Tevura. _What artifacts_, they wondered.

"They were looking for a Leviathan data archive, to be precise. They claim that they wanted to study it, to learn more about the nature of Element Zero..."

"But you don't believe them," Nyreen finished the sentence for Ashla sensing some of the hidden plots around her.

_The Turian learns fast, _Kelis' fingers commented, and the other agreed.

"There was just one little problem with their plans, however," Ashla continued, "they lacked certain _equipments _to locate and excavate the artifacts. They needed help... And this is where the Mentats come in. The Mentats possessed the technology as well as the personnel to help them find the treasures they seek, and so they met with High Lord Amun Shastri, the highest ranking Mentat Lord in my husband's faction and _convinced _him of the merits of a certain _joint venture_."

Nyreen and Tevura fidgeted at the mention of the Mentats. "The Mentats are..."

Kasia's fingers cautioned Ashla: _Give no details, Ash. Let them learn about the Mentats from the Mentats._

"... are very good specialists in certain fields," Ashla said, "so they sought out their help. They told them stories of a fantastic new galaxy, filled with non-humans and a substance which could alter mass. Needless to say, the Mentats found just news very tempting."

Nyreen and Tevura pondered this new information. So they were dealing with one species that had multiple factions... and they don't have Element Zero. Interesting. They already suspected this, of course, but now it was certain.

"However," Ashla added with a little bit of irony, "the Mentats - those paragons of logic and reason - did not trust them, and they would go to no unknown galaxy with a group as distrusted as the Cerberii. And so they came to the Sardaukar..."

"Faradan is a Sardaukar," Tevura pointed out.

"Tevura!" Nyreen snapped.

"It okay, Miss Kandros." Faradan said, speaking up from his corner, "My peoples... Sardaukar-in-Exile (3). We are friendliness to the Bene Gesserit and the Mentats. We havings stronger weapons that most," he paused and asked Ashla a question, "most baseline humans(4) do not have. They Mentats comings to us for military power. Share discoveries of this galaxy with us. Element Zero. We were interested, but our cooperatings only possible if bring along Bene Gesserit. Sardaukar very close with Bene Gesserit."

Nyreen rubbed her forehead to make sense of all this. "So let me get this straight. This Cerberii. They found this galaxy, and have been here for years. For some reason, they are interested in the Leviathans, and want to study one of their artifacts. However, because they lack the necessary equipment to find said artifacts, they came to the Mentats seeking help. However, because the Mentats don't trust the Cerberii, they decided to enlist the aid of your warrior class..."

"We not warrior class, Lady Kandros," Faradan said. "Just one faction of many. Sardaukar in Exile more warlike than most, seekings to revive the spirits of the past."

"Right. So they decided to bring along the Sardaukar _as insurance." _The Witches chuckled at this.

Ashla then said something. "Mother Superior says: You! I like you!"

A smile crept on Nyreen's face despite herself, and then she continued: "And the Sardaukar," she turned to Faradan, "brought along the Bene Gesserit because they also didn't trust the Mentats?"

"Oh the Sardaukar trust the Mentats." Ashla explained. "It's just that, our factions are very close." Ashla didn't tell Nyreen that the Bene Gesserits engineered the Sardaukar in Exile, that they were one of their many cat's paws in the Scattering. Even in this day and age, the Missionaria Protectiva still existed, and the Witches of the Bene Gesserit used to create and exploit human factions to serve the interests of the Sisterhood.

"Aside from that, however, you understand the situation quite well."

"So you're not here to fight the Reapers?" Tevura asked.

"Of course not!" Ashla answered, and the Asari suddenly felt dejected by her answer.

"Reverend Mother," Nyreen asked while fidgeting on her seat, "just how many humans are in this fleet of yours?"

"Three Ships, the Bio-Ship of the Cerberii, the Normandy, which is my son's Star Folder, and the Brazil. 200,000 or so personnel all in all," Ashla answered, translating for Kasia. Nyreen waited for more details, but the Witch merely shrugged.

Nyreen was rather disppointed by these numbers. She had expected an entire invasion force, but she reminded herself that this was largely a scout fleet.

_Look at the Turian, sister, _Kelis fingers told Kasia, _Look how she's disappointed._

_Indeed. She expects us to join her cause. _

_Good luck with that. I doubt the Mentats would want to stay in this galaxy longer than they have to, _Karin added. _And as for the Cerberii. They would be fools to trust them. _

_And what of us, sister?Shall we help them?_Asked Kelis' fingers.

_We will speak of this at another time, Reverend Mother Chamb'r._

_As you wish, MotherSuperior._

"Three ships. I take it that this just a scout fleet." Nyreen asked.

"Less than a scout fleet," Ashla answered. "You must understand. Your galaxy is unexplored territory as far as we're concerned, and although we are eager to learn about its secrets, particularly Element Zero, we are also wary of the dangers here. We humans are generally isolationists."

"And how does our rescue affect your plans? And for that matter, why even bother rescuing us if all you're concerned with was this _Leviathan relic _that you're looking for_?_" She directed this to Kasia.

"You would question our motives? "

"Yes."

"Very well. If you must know," Ashla translated, "we were curious, or more accurately, _I_ was curious. I wished to see your kind in the flesh. Our presence in your planet simply gave us the perfect excuse."

"But why only us? You could have saved three thousand other refugees!" Nyreen demanded, a bit angry that the humans only sought to save them and not the thousands of others who were slain by the Reapers, but she quickly lowered her voice.

"It's complicated," Ashla listened to Kasia's answer and then translated, "The Mentats were divided on the topic of the rescue, and rescuing you would cause complications within our _alliance. _The issue was put to a debate and a vote. Needless to say, by the time, we arrived at a decision, it was already a little too late."

"A little too late..." Nyreen swallowed the curse that nearly erupted from her mouth. She looked at Tevura, and saw the Asari clenching her fists tightly.

Kasia looked liked she was going to say more, but an opening door interrupted her. From that door emerged an elegant looking Asari maiden dressed in intricate silk robes filled with strange intricate patterns (2). Neither Tevura nor Nyreen recognized her, and this made them both very edgy.

_What is this? _They thought.

"Miss Kandros. Miss Tsoni. This Kasumi Goto, a very dear friend and face dancer," Ashla introduced the newcomer. _Kasumi Goto. _That was not an Asari name!

The Asari carried a tray of filled with steaming cups of hot beverages. She walked to each of the humans and gave each of them a cup. To Faradan, she gave a cup as well as a peck on the cheek, which caused the man to frown and then chuckle, as if he had been the victim of a harmless prank. To Kasia, she gave her cup with, and bowed before her as an obedient foster daughter.

_"Dozo Oka-sama."_ The Asari said in an ancient Terran language that had been forgotten for hundreds of thousands of years.

_"Domo, Kasumi-chan. Ikaga desu ka?"_

_"Yoi! Kasia-dono! __Watashi wa genki desu__!" _The Asari and Kasia then exchanged several joyful banter, causing Nyreen and Tevura even more discomfort than they already felt. _That gibberish doesn't sound like the usual gibberish humans speak to each other, _Tevura thought.

When they finished, the Asari known as _Kasumi _got up and walked towards Nyreen and Tevura, and offered them the last two cups from the tray. Tevura accepted the steaming cup, but placed it beside her, while Nyreen looked at hers as if it was poison.

"Don't worry, Miss Kandros. Your coffee was synthesized for dextro-amino consumption," the young Asari said, trying to calm her suspicions, but when Nyreen looked up to respond to Kasumi, she did not meet a young Asari maiden, but a young Turian female. Tevura saw this also, and was shocked by the sudden transformation, almost spilling the cup of choco beside her.

Kasumi's smile looked very alien on a Turian face. _It was unnatural. _It was like a bird trying to imitate the snarl of a wolf. She then bowed very low, and when she got up, her face and body had turned into a Batarian female. Once more she - or perhaps it - smiled to both, got up, walked back to where Kasia was seated and bowed to her mistress, and then quietly left.

"You're shape shifters!" Tevura accused.

"Only a rare few," Ashla answered, and then explained that Kasumi was a pseudo-face dancer (5), a breed of humans that could change their appearance. They are a subset of humanity, assuming one uses a broader definition for what it means to be human. "It was she who retrieved the Leviathan artifact," Ashla explained "and it was she who infiltrated your _Sanctuary_ to retrieve geographical data we required to find our target."

Ashla turned to Kasia and pretended to tell her what she said to the Turian and the Asari, even though the Mother Superior already knew what was said. It was all designed to maintain a façade of ignorance.

Nyreen thought about what Ashla said and something clicked in her mind. "That's why you came to the Sanctuary. You weren't just looking for the artifact. You were also trying to retrieve your _face dancer._"

"Yes," Kasia answered with Ashla translating, "rescuing Kasumi had been our real goal in intercepting the Reaper force."

"And we just got lucky that you happened to pass by," Nyreen said, but regretting the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yes," Ashla said, "that's a good summary of your situation."

Nyreen considered this for a moment and then asked. "So it was all chance that you rescued us?"

"If you wish to think of it that way," Ashla translated. "But Mother Superior wants to emphasize that we really did wish to know more about you. Despite our _subterfuge, we are also a curious people._"

"And so here you are," Nyreen commented.

"And so here we are," Ashla said.

"About this artefact..." Nyreen asked, "do you really think it's Leviathan?"

"Oh, we know it is."

"So what do you plan to do with it?" This time, it was Tevura who asked the question.

The Witches talked with each other briefly, to give the Xenos the impression that they were unsure of what to say. This, of course, was simply the usual Bene Gesserit trickery.

"We suspect that the Cerberii plan to use the artifact to control the Machines that _your people _call, The Reapers." Ashla said finally.

Tevura clenched her fists at this news, but said nothing. She snuck a look at Nyreen, but the Turian's face remained calm and passive, lost to thoughts of her own.

"Of course," Kasia added, "this is all just conjecture. The Cerberii – or at least their representative, Marandi – claim that they want the Leviathan artifact to help them learn additional information about the properties of Element Zero. This, of course, is nonsense, but regardless of their schemes, we do not yet know what the Cerberii are planning. So we cannot truly tell you. From our initial analysis of the artifact, it seems to be just a harmless data archive. Most of the data is corrupted, but the few bits of information stored in this artifact seems to hold a great deal knowledge about the Machines."

"May we examine this data archive?" Nyreen asked, trying to bottle up her excitement.

"No," Ashla answered with finality, using a tone that brook no argument. "Not at the moment anyway. We will inform you **if **the situation changes."

Nyreen and Tevura became quiet after this, lost in their thoughts. They learned so much in these past few hours that they don't know what to say.

"Please... drink for awhile."

Tevura and Nyreen suddenly realized that they were thirsty and so they drank the beverages, the humans offered them.

"Whoah," Tevura said in an awed whisper.

"That's chocolate, dear. Grown from one of the best agri-modules in the Brazil. Do you like it?" Ashla said, translating for Kasia.

"Y-yeah."

"I'm glad you like it. And you miss Kandros?" The Turian only smiled in response, but she couldn't focus on the drink because her thoughts were elsewhere. Both Turian and Asari sat quietly for several minutes, while the humans observed them, like so many glowing predators in a dark forest.

_"I think we shocked them a little," _Kasia's fingers said.

_"That's an understatement," _Karin's fingers replied._ "I think it's time for a little change of pace."_

_"I agree"_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ashla asked, "Do Turian females pleasure themselves often?"

Nyreen stared in shock at the question. Like most of Turian society, Turian females were fairly conservative when it came to sex. Sexual conduct was highly regulated and any talk about "pleasuring" oneself was practically semi-taboo. You don't talk about that sort of thing! It the sign of degeneracy, of harlotry.

"What!"

"So sorry, Miss Kandros, the Mother Superior asked if Turian females pleasure themselves."

"I'd say that's none of your damned business!" Nyreen shot back, snarling.

Kasia only smiled and her fingers said, _That was very easy. I thought we'd need stronger pressures to make her lose her composure._

_Push harder, Kas!_ Kahla's fingers spoke. _We need to find other weaknesses in these Xenos. _

_Observe the way her claws shake. And the way she moves her jaws. Interesting physiological reactions!_

_And the Asari, _alerted Karin, _see her head and limbs move so subtly. Evolutionary movement maybe._

Ashla and Chakwas both smiled as their fingers encouraged Kasia to keep putting on more pressure. Make them uneasy. Make them lose their balance and then ask the big questions.

"How about you, Asari? I hear that your kind are rather promiscuous?" Kasia asked with renewed humor, through Ashla.

Tevura looked at Kasia with calm eyes, willing her face into a Frozen smile and completely unwilling to cower before this psychotic alien from a bad Sci-fi movie. "We have a healthy sex drive, Mother Superior, and we are quite comfortable with our bodies. But what about human females? Why do you hide yourselves behind such ugly robes..."

Kasia was taken aback by such a response. The Xeno girl had audacity, and had clearly seen through their subterfuge. Kasia then burst into laughter, followed by her fellow sisters.

"Well said! Well said!"

Despite herself, Tevura laughed also, and soon so did Nyreen.

"Well said!" Ashla translated.

"Any other trick questions, you'd like to ask us, Mother Superior?" Tevura asked, like an accomplished Matron, while sipping her cup of hot chocolate demurely. Nyreen looked at Tevura with sudden pride. _Good girl! _She thought. _They got me good, _but you turned that around well on your own.

Kasia laughed even before Ashla managed to translate what Tevura had said, but she quickly gathered her wits and decided to make another charge.

"Do you fancy my son, girl?" Kasia asked, and Ashla translated this, snickering. The Mother Superior's cavalry charge was brutal.

"Mother..." Faradan complained.

"Shut up, boy."

For a moment, Tevura was speechless, her witty retort lost in her throat. "No!" She said a little too loudly. It was a bloody slaughter, and Tevura was driven off the battlefield.

"No? What's wrong with my son? Is he not handsome enough for you?" Unbeknownst to either Nyreen and Tevura, Bene Gesserit fingers were talking very quickly.

_Will you look at that! _Karin's fingers spoke. _The little Asari does find your son attractive. _

_Interesting instincts too, _added Kelis, _I didn't think these Asari could blush. Notice the muscles on her limbs. That may be coping mechanism for stress..._

_Oh hush now! Just focus on the slight clues. These are quite useful. We should do this with the other Xenos as well. Kasia?_

_Of course!_

The finger conversations were cut short, however, when Faradan snapped at his own mother: "Enough of this, woman! Stop tormenting the Xenos."

"Me?! Tormenting! I am merely observing, and if you are wise, my son, you should observe them closely as well," answered Kasia.

The Scattering had not been kind of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. It forced them to shed many of their millenia old practices. In the Old Imperium, the Witches had exercised a sort religious and esoteric mystique, forcing the wider public to view them with a sense of _gravitas _and nobility. However, such practices only work in a unified and stable state. Out there, in the Scattering, where humanity had reverted back to a nomadic and tribalistic system, it simply did not work.

Needless to say, the Bene Gesserits had been forced to adapt, for although they had not shed their core purpose - _the maturation of the human species, in whatever definition or permutation it becomes_ -_, _they still needed to change how they did things.

This forced the Witches of the Sisterhood to change their Modus Operandi. Here, in the Scattering, they took on new veneers. Some developed new tricks and wiles to subdue the weak minded, while others began developing new internal powers and mental faculties, becoming like the Mentats. Other Bene Gesserit offshoots became more isolationist and more esoteric, experimenting with the unknown and the unknowable, while others expanded their membership in order to accept males.

In certain cases, some Bene Gesserit offshoots lost some of their original powers and had forgotten their heritage. These groups had mingled with the likes of Leto's Fish Speakers to become Honored Matres, while other became worse... much worse.

As for Kasia Shepard's branch of the Sisterhood, they shed the gravitas and haughty facade of the original Bene Gesserit for something... _sillier. _

Realizing that the haughty mysticism of the past no longer worked in the Scattering, certain Bene Gesserit offshoots changed their tactics. Where the Sisterhood once projected an aura of stoic knowledge, they projected an image of foolishness, impudence and distracting madness.

These new tendencies, however, were just facades, designed to fool and manipulate even the wisest humans. It was the bright red cape of the _Matador_ to conceal the sharp blade of Bene Gesserit subtlety and stratagem. Like the brilliant court Jesters of ancient Terra, these new breed of Bene Gesserit Witches used farce and parody to conceal, and reveal, truth. They used laughter and silliness to hide their cunning.

And it was extremely effective…

Even those who never underestimated Bene Gesserit abilities were vulnerable to them, and today, Kasia planned to use such _silliness _to manipulate these Xenos.

"Mother Superior," Nyreen began, "don't think we don't know what you're doing."

"Do you?" asked Ashla.

"We are also females, and we have female instincts like you do. It is clear enough that you are trying to observe us." Kasia and Ashla shrugged at this, as if they don't know what she was talking about.

Kasia then said something long to Nyreen and Ashla quickly translated this. "Mother Superior would like to share with you something our _God Emperor_ had once said during his reign '_Mischief is a most profound pleasure. It's in the ways that we deal with mischief that we sharpen creativity.'"_

Nyreen frowned at this. "Is this your intent? To sharpen our 'creativity?'"

Kasia looked at her fellow sisters, a little sad. They had grossly overestimated these Xenos.

"Creativity is an essential part of overcoming stagnation," Ashla translated for Mother Superior.

"And what does stagnation have to do with this?" Nyreen demanded.

"Stagnation is a condition that leads to destruction. It is a condition that afflicts all mature civilizations."

"If you say so..."

"We do say so..." Ashla translated, "our vision confirms this. All humans know this in the depths of their being."

"And what does this have to do with those lewd questions you asked earlier?"

"They were asked to shock you. You failed adapt to the unexpected, and you lashed out."

"I fail to understand the point in any of this."

"There is a point, Miss Kandros, if one understands time and space as a human does."

"And tell me," Nyreen's voice suddenly became hard, "how do humans understand time and space."

"We understand it as the overcoming of the prophet's eyes, of finitude, of fixed paths, and of prescience." Ashla summed up for Kasia.

"Prescience?"

"The ability to see and control the future," Ashla said simply.

Upon hearing this, Nyreen thought that she may have misheard Ashla's words, but the Bene Gesserit translator gladly repeated her original answer.

"Do you really expect us to believe that you could predict the future?" Nyreen asked in a sarcastic tone.

Kasia smiled at this and gestured at the folded paper, now forgotten after all the revelations. The note, in Havala script, read:

_Yes, Nyreen. We can predict the future._

Nyreen's eyes widened and looked up at Kasia in surprise. This has to be some kind of trick.

_No, this is not a trick._ The Witches laughed amongst themselves as the Turian read the note. Kasia gestured at her to turn the note around. Nyreen did so, and she read another prediction: _And Tevura is about to ask us if we can predict a way to defeat your machine problem..._

As if on cue, Tevura asked sarcastically, "If you can really predict the future then can you predict a way for us to defeat the Reapers?"

Nyreen looked at Tevura with awestruck eyes.

_And if you're still not convinced, she's going to crack some remark about how things were easier when she was still in that glorified underground bunker you called home. But do keep this information to yourself for now, please. Let the poor girl doubt for now._

"I'm beginning to miss Aras," Tevura sighed to herself.

"That's impossible!" Nyreen gasped in shock. This is a trick of some sort. It has to be. And yet something in her instincts told her that it was not, that all this was very much real.

"Ny?" Tevura asked, surprised by her outburst, but Nyreen quickly recovered, and she quickly crumpled the paper before Tevura could remember that it was there.

"No... uh... Nothing kid. Nothing." Nyreen quickly hid the piece of paper before the Asari could ask anything more. "Predicting futures is impossible... Yes, impossible. The humans are just messing with our heads, as usual."

Kasia's smile deepened.

"Reverend Mother, we thank you for your hospitality, but I think we should be getting home now. We're a little tired."

Kasia nodded after Ashla translated this. "Ashla, escort our guests back to their quarters." _And stop the Mentats from asking too many questions, _her fingers added.

"Yes, Mother Superior," Ashla bowed.

"You too Faradan."

"Yes, Mother."

Kasia waved to both the Asari and Turian as they left, but she remained smiling as they did so.

* * *

Nyreen and Tevura arrived back to their "holding pens" in the agri-module several hours after Ovon Ba and Hecodus had arrived. Most of the refugees were walking about on the artificial grass and trees relaxing. One of the humans - a Sardaukar - was playing a song on some strange musical instrument, much to the delight of the Maidens who surrounded him. His name was _Vega,_ if Tevura could recall correctly.

Out near the entrance, still on the suspensor platform, were Nyreen, Faradan and Ashla. They were still talking. Nyreen insisted to speak with Shepard about additional items that the refugees needed, mostly food and toiletries as well as extra medication for the Quarians and items which could block out moisture for the Drell. This was probably going to take a while, so Tevura decided to move ahead.

The interview with Shepard and the Reverend Mother had exhausted her, and now, she just wanted to rest and relax for a long time.

Even after more than a week of staying here, Tevura was still very impressed by humans' technological ability at creating their self-sustaining green houses. Despite the artificiality of the area, she relaxed herself, taking in as much of the air as she could, imagining that she was on an actual planet with actual trees and air, and that the simulated day/night cycle were in fact actual days and nights.

Most of her entire life thus far was spent in what was essentially an underground bunker, and she detested it. So for her to experience something this relaxing felt really good. Logically, she knew that she was inside a giant ship, but she allowed herself to pretend for a moment that the light came from a real sun, and not from sophisticated projectors; the grass and soil real beneath her instead of bio-machinery.

Despite herself, she began skipping through the grass towards the barracks building which had been her home these past few days.

* * *

As Tevura went towards the barracks building, she overheard Ovon Ba talking to two Turians.

"... and the humans said... hiss... : _If you don't tell us what we want to know we will torture you! _And the one called... hiss... Udina said,_ Yessshh, Teeeell ussshh, or weeee weeell make yoouuu bleeeeeed. We have many evil devices for the task_"

Both Turians were surprised by this revelation. "I knew it! I knew these humans are sadistic monsters! What did I tell you!"

"Ah... Fear not, Valax," Ovon Ba said reassuringly. "It was all a... hiss... bluff. The humans aren't so tough. Why I looked that tall human in the eye, and I said: _Are you sure you want to intimidate me? ARE YOU!? I may be smaller than you, but we Volus have taken down entire Reaper fleets. So pick your words wisely! You. Don't. Want. To. Make. Me. Angry! _And then the human cowered before me, and they never threatened us again! It was honest to Irune's truth!"

Tevura rolled her eyes at the tall tales as she entered the barracks area. She wanted to crack a joke about how Ovon was cowering inside his suit during the interview with the Mentats, but there was no reason to antagonize the Volus.

Instead, she hurried to her bunk in the barracks to rest, exhausted after that lengthy interview with the Bene Gesserits. She would have enjoyed walking about the grass of the agri-module, and even enjoy the simulated sunlight from the glowglobes which flew around the area, but she was just plain exhausted.

"H-h-hey Tev," Faelus greeted her when she reached the outer areas of the barracks.

"Hey Fail."

"Heard from Ovon and H-h-hec that you and Nyreen had an unpleasant time with the humans."

"It was informative," Tevura said, and then noticed something wrong. "Fail? Is there something I should know?"

"Ah, one of the humans – a Mentat, I think – is in the Barracks. Asked us to leave for a few minutes, because she needed to do something in there." Fail jabbed a finger at the locked door. "Wux told me to stay here in case she needed anything."

"What's a human doing inside our quarters, Fail?" Tevura asked suddenly a bit angry.

"I-I-I don't know. Only said a bunch of stuff about _inspecting_ things. Couldn't understand a damn thing it was saying. Didn't know how to speak proper."

"And you let her inside?" Tevura asked incredulously

"Well, it's their sh-ship."

"Dammit! Fail, she's spying on our stuff."

"What stuff? All w-w-we have in there are a b-bunch of clothes and some trinkets. I think you're being a little paranoid."

"You have no idea, Faelus." Tevura then summoned Wux, who was nearby, by waving to him,. "You! You're supposed to be in charge here."

"What's wrong Tev?" The Krogan asked.

"Why'd you let a human into our place?"

"Our place? This is their ship," the Krogan answered.

"That's what I've b-been trying to tell her," added Faelus.

But Tevura ignored him, and tried to come up with a way to explain to the Krogan that the humans are a race of sneaky extra-galactic dicks. "Wux, the human that you just allowed into our quarters, where we sleep and rest, she's probably a spy," she said in a nice and somewhat condescending tone, "and right now, she's probably looking for things that will cause us a lot of grief in the future."

Wux shrugged in his usual indifferent manner, and more than a little amused by Tevura's sudden paranoia. "If she is a spy then the only thing that she'll find in our quarters are old laundry and Fail's Asari-Volus porn collection."

"Hey! I told you not to tell anyone about that."

Tevura ignored Faelus and then snapped at Wux: "Even if she's not looking for anything in particular, she could be planting spying devices in there!"

"Fail's right. You are paranoid."

"Paranoid?" The Asari pointed her fingers at the comeyes floating above their quarters, observing them like so many carrion birds. "Do you really think so?"

Wux considered this for a moment. "I suuuuppose you have a point."

"Ugghhh! Forget it! I'll handle this myself, and call Shepard. We're probably going to have a little shouting match very soon over certain human _habits._"

* * *

It didn't take long for Tevura to find the human who intruded into their quarters. She was in the corner, toying with some kind of package, probably Faelus' porn collection.

"Hey! Hey you!" Tevura snapped.

Jak panicked when she heard the alien's voice. It was one of the tentacled blue ones. _Wretched whore! She was compromised!_

Jak was going to throw one of her poisoned needles at her and make a run for it, but her nerves cautioned her to remain still. Maybe the creature doesn't suspect what she's doing here.

"What are you doing here?" Tevura demanded. "One of the Bene Gesserits sent you here didn't they? Or maybe it was Udina or Alenko or maybe one of the Mentats? Doesn't matter, because I have had just about up to here with you and your tricks. Oh! Look at us, we are an ancient all-seeing race from beyond the galaxy. You know what? That is load of Varren piss. From what we've experienced so far, you're all just bunch of dicks. You're no better than the Reapers!" Tevura sighed. "Okay, that's not true, but still you guys with all your sneakiness and plotting. Ugh! Wow! Just Wow! You're worse than the Salarians and they Matriarchs, and believe me, they're pretty bad, but you guys, you just take it to a whole new level. So you tell the Bene Gesserit, or the Sardaukar, or the Mentats, or the Cerberii, or whatever the hell faction you're working for, and you tell them that we are sick and pissed of your antics!"

Jak murmurred a response.

"What?"

"Me no speaking language," Jak quickly muttered.

"Ohhh... Don't give me that crap. You got through Fail and Wux. So you probably know how to speak a little Havala. And while we're on the topic of language, I bet most of you already understand us. Yeah, that's right! I know that all this 'me no speaky your speaky tongue' is just another one of your tricks to mess with our heads. Well, we're on to you. We're not as dumb as we look, we oh-so humble like creatures, stuck in just one little galaxy, while the mighty humans are sailing around in their mighty _Golden Path_. So you know? You can just kiss my tents!"

Jak's heart pumped wildly. She was in grave danger. This Xenos was clearly angry, and she could barely understand what she was saying. What if this blue whore blurts out what she knows to someone? _Damnations!_ _She just won't shut her mouth. Think! You are an Honored Matre. You were trained for this! This creature will ruin your mission. What are you going to do about it? _

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Tevura snapped, after she had exhausted her anger.

Jak did not hesitate. She instantly lept at Tevura, her legs frozen like a spear. A needle-like blade emerged from her boot, and it smashed into the Asari's neck, driving her backwards into the ground. Had Tevura been a human she would have been dead, for the powerful kick and its needle-like blade had been had been aimed to sever several major human arteries. But her Asari physiology was wired differently, and the kick only hit several layers of fat and tough muscle.

The human woman relaxed as soon as Tevura fell to the floor, sure that her prey was dead, and she could escape the module before anyone would notice her presence. But the triumph on her face quickly disappeared as she felt the blue alien stir. Before she could react, a powerful wave of biotic energy slammed into her body smashing her against the opposite wall.

Jak quickly picked herself up, shaking her head and furious at this miserable _Out Freyn Bitch. _A deep, psychotic hatred rose up from within her, a violence-addicted wrath deeply imbedded in the Honore Matre psyche.

"Fahshh! Mn khwan khawed ra ma nowesahndi" _You bitch! I will drink your blood!_

"Yeah. Whatever. Right back at you!" Tevura snarled, while wincing in pain.

Tevura tried another Biotic Slam, but Jak effortlessly dodged it with the uncanny speed that all humans seemed to have. Before Tevura could launch another attack, she found herself in an arm lock, with Jak suddenly right behind her. A single twist of the Honored Matre's sinewy arms dislocated Tevura's own limb, causing her to cry in agony.

Jak then picked up Tevura and slammed her against the wall. Her assassin's instinct told her to quietly dispose of the strange blue Xeno and escape, but her Honored Matre heritage snarled at her: _Fuck up the blue bitch! Make her scream! Make her bleed. _Orange flecks began gathering around her eyes, and a twisted smile formed on her face (5).

"Man roweh khawod ra buh shatan ma dhod. Mamken ast rewh tw peache wa tab khwrdn w raat dr a'emaq srd skewt. Bilal kaifa!" _I give your soul to Shaitan. May thy soul writhe and burn in the cold depths of silence. Bilal Kaifa!_

Jak removed a ceremonial killing dagger hidden in her robes, and caressed it. Her blood lust caused her mind to ignore the shouts and commotion from outside the barracks building, and instead focus on the coming blood feast. This was one of the greatest weaknesses of the Honored Matres: The addiction to adrenaline violence.

As Jak was about to gut Tevura, a violent kick smashed into one of her legs, and as she stumbled, she barely had time to react and dodge the punch that would have knocked her out. Sensing danger, she quickly dodged away from her new attackers.

Standing opposite her now were two males, the Corrino-looking Faradan Shepard and the swarthy, Jamal Vega. They were both in fighting positions, muscles loose, legs even and arms positioned for sudden death. Soon, they were joined by Kaidan Alenko who leapt in front of the sprawled figure of Tevura, covering her with his own body. He too took on a fighting position.

_Three Males at the same time, on the bed and on the battlefield._ That was an Honored Matre Dream. Despite the failure of her mission, Jak was strangely exhilarated. She hated cloaks and daggers, and she was finally about to have some Honored Matre style fun.

"Come to mommy!"

Kaidan, Shepard and Vega attacked her simultaneously. They traded blows, dodged bone crushing kicks and fought with the almost supernatural speed and precision that Tevura had come to associate with their species. At one point, Tevura saw Jak throw a missed punch into a steel frame, denting it and not even show the slightest sign of pain or slowing down.

All four humans fought each other to a standstill, that is until other humans came into the room. Soon, some of the refugees arrived as well. Among them Nyreen who quickly dragged Tevura from out of the fighting area.

"One week after getting messed up by the Reapers and I get myself fucked over by an extragalactic alien bitch," Tevura said sardonically to Nyreen.

"Shut up, Kid! Shut Up!" Snarled Nyreen, as she struggled to keep Tevura safe from the fighting, dragging her out from the room. She saw a couple of needles hit one of the walls, and emitted small bits of smoke. _Poisons!_

"Stay back!" Nyreen snarled at Kalos, as she attempted to enter the fray.

"But Ny!"

"Do you have a weapon, Maiden Kalos!"

"No, but..."

"Then in the name of the Primarch's Ass-Tits, stay back! Let the humans handle their own shit! You too Wux!"

"I'm a Krogan!" Wux complained

"I don't care if your Urdnot Hellspawn Wrex! Humans use a lot of poisoned needles. Do you really want to bet that your immune system can save you from their toxins? Good, then stay the hell back!"

In the meantime, the humans continued to fight, with Jak beaten to a corner. Several times, Shepard and the others could have killed her, but they refused, which only meant that they wanted to take her alive. There were now twelve humans in the room, all of whom were in defensive stances, waiting patiently for the people with the stunner pellets to arrive.

"Submit!" Kaidan said, his voice filled with the power of Voice. The sound was filled with warped tones and his voice became monstrous, terrifying.

"SUBMIT!" Shepard said also, joining his own Voice to Kaidan's

Jak's muscles froze, but her training allowed her to resist it. "Your Witch's tricks won't work with me, fool!" snarled Jak.

"Submit!" They repeated, their combined voices demonically deep, dark and menacing now.

Jak smiled. She flipped her dagger, so that it pointed straight into her chest. It was clear what she was going to do. But before she could make her move, a stunner pellet slammed into the side of her neck. Her mind shrieked, _plunge it now! Plunge the dagger! _But her body refused to respond and it froze. As her body faltered and fell to the floor, she felt a powerful hand strike away her dagger, and with it her hope for an honorable death.

* * *

"I swearing to you," Faradan said apologetically, "we do not knowings where this assassin cames from."

"You really expect me to believe that?" Snarled Nyreen. "She nearly killed Tevura! She nearly killed her!"

"And for that we apologize," a female voice said.

From the crowd, emerged Ashla Illam carrying a pistol of some kind, clearly the one used to launch the stunner that knocked out the would be assassin.

"However, Miss Kandros, at this point in time, it is best to gather your people together and vacate the module for a little while. She may have left several explosives inside." Ashla pitched her voice in such a way that everyone nearby could hear her. Without waiting for a signal, the refugees began filing our of the module on their own.

The aliens, after seeing the Assassin had began to shy away from their human hosts, now a little afraid of them, but more because they were confused by the whole situation. The humans had saved them, and now one of them, had attempted to kill one of their own. They were angry about this, of course, but the whole debacle simply made everything more confusing for them.

Instinctively, the refugees began forming themselves into small, tight groups. It was an impulse in all life, regardless of origin: In the presence of danger, close ranks and fend off attackers. The humans, who had been their saviors and who for the most part had been regarded as strange, enigmatic curiosities, had taken on a more ominous nature, and suddenly, the refugees were reminded that these creatures came from the unknown. They were unknown, and this attempted attack reminded them that they were also dangerous.

Shepard saw something new in the way the refugees regarded him and his companions. Where there had once been curious interest, they now saw him as something predatory. All the work they've done in the past week or so of cultivating trust among the Xenos just got flushed down into the proverbial septic tank.

Nyreen wanted to say something, to complain, to snarl – anything, but she knew that action – not accusations were needed at this very moment.

"We will speak of this later, and when we do, I will demand honest answers!" Nyreen nearly snarled at the Bene Gesserit.

Ashla half bowed to her and turned to Faradan, Alenko, Vega and the Guard in charge of their module.

"What's the situation?" Ashla asked imperiously.

"Stable," answered Shepard. "See for yourself." He handed her the toxin packets that Jak had planted all around the module.

"These are fake," Ashla said, frowning.

"That's right, which means that who or whatever sent our Honored Matre assassin to do this was setting her up to be captured."

"Or killed," Kaidan added. He was about to say more, but he was quickly cut off by a newcomer.

"Where the hell did that Honored Matre come from?" snarled Udina, as he stomped towards Shepard and Ashla with the characteristic snarl which never seemed to leave his face. He was groggy, almost half-asleep, and his robes bore the signs of haste. Slightly behind him was Kasumi, also walking towards them at a fast pace.

"She's a spy or more likely a saboteur," Ashla said, then added "A mentat should accept data when it is provided to him."

"Do not talk down to me, Witch!" Udina snapped.

"Milord. Milady. You forget yourselves" Shepard interrupted both ominously.

"Yes. Yes. Of course. Reverend Mother. Please excuse me I'm a little tired." _You scheming bitch!_

"Of course, Lord Mentat." Ashla said.

"Reverend Mother..." Kasumi signalled to her with a finger.

"Yes?" Ashla then leaned close to Kasumi who said something to her ear. This clearly surprised her, for she gasped a little in shock, and _Bene Gesserit almost never gasp in shock._

"What is it?"Udina demanded.

"The Honored Matre is not an Honored Matre."

Faradan, Alenko and Udina looked at Ashla like she had gone a little insane, and then the meaning of her words struck them.

"She's a face dancer," Udina said at last.

"She's a class 7 Face Dancer to be precise," Kasumi added, "Implanted memories, above average physical augmentation, intense neural conditioning, and most importantly..."

"They were designed to fool even Reverend Mothers," Ashla added.

"Yes, so whoever sent her here that we had Truthsayers on board," Kasumi said.

Unlike most Face Dancers, Class 7 Face Dancers possessed no personalities of their own. They were basically blank slates, which can be given one – and only one - personality to mimic. Once a Class 7 has assumed this identity, they consider themselves to be the actual person they are copying, every memory and detail. After all, the best lies, are those which the liar believes wholeheartedly. This unique feature was designed to serve one purpose, to fool Reverend Mother Truthsayers.

"So let's review all this" Shepard said, "Someone planted this Face Dancer here, to spy on us, and perhaps even kill some of our leaders, and now some other person or group sets her up with a fake mission and fake toxin packets so that she will be captured... or eliminated.

"That is the optimum probability, Lord Burseg," Kaidan agreed, and giving the usual Mentat computations, "72.35% probability to be precise."

Udina took a deep breath, growled then quickly left, a dozen other Mentats following in his wake.

Ashla looked at Faradan like she was going to say something, but she quickly changed her mind, and she too began to leave. "Keep the prisoner secured, Faradan. You and I both know that whoever is holding her strings will want to silence her very soon," she said as a parting shot.

"Vega!"

"Milord!"

"Contact the High Bashar. Tell him the situation just got a lot more complicated."

* * *

Deep in dark chambers of the Illusive one, the Lady Captain Marandi stood before her lord, and on her face was a very wide, sardonic smile. "It is done. The Face Dancer spy has been captured. The fake assassination orders we sent to the Face Dancer were very succesful."

"Good. Good," The Illusive One replied. "That takes care of one of our problems, and her capture will cause dissension among the ranks of our_ allies_." He said 'allies' with a lot of irony.

"It is already happening, Lord. My spies tell me heightened levels of security within the Brazil. If we're lucky the Witches and Mentats will weaken each other even more before the time to strike comes." She paused then added. "Lord, I still don't understand why we gave _Jak _fake Toxin Packets. Surely, the Xenos are a threat to our plans. It would have been better if she had used real toxins and killed everything in that module."

"True, lady Marandi," answered the Illusive One. "But we must be patient. We can always eliminate the Xenos later. For now, I wish to see what the witches are planning. And who knows? Perhaps we may have uses for these Xenos too."

"As you say, milord, although I am concerned that they will suspect our part in this _attack_."

"Let them suspect us. Suspicion is worthless without the will to act. As long as they don't have proof of our involvement, or what Jak really is, we have nothing to fear. Have they found the nullentropy beacon inside Jak?"

"No, milord. Not yet. Kai Leng secretly removed it from Jak before she attempted her latest mission, and then destroyed it. "

"Good! Very Good! The Witches and the Mentats must not suspect Jak's true purpose or the actual force behind her strings," The Illusive One declared and then added: "We are so close now, Marandi. So very close. Only one piece of the puzzle remains..."

"Yes, the Ghola, Garrus Vakarian..." Marandi said completing the thoughts in his head.

"That's right. You must restore his memories soon. The sooner, the better."

"We are doing our best, lord."

"I know you are, my dear, but time is not on our side. Remember, the Turian's memories holds the key to our ascension." The Illusive One then paused. Marandi nodded in agreement and began to take her leave, but the Illusive One stopped her. "And Marandi," he said, "if the Witches or the Mentats ever suspect Jak's real origins then it is critical that she be eliminated. They must not know that it is the Many Faced Ones that hunt us..."

* * *

"Jim! We have a problem!"

"Dammit! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Why? What were you doing?"

"Giving Marty and Daniel updates. What problem are you talking about?"

"Really? Did you tell them about the robotic cuttlefish we found?"

"Yes. I told them about the _robotic cuttlefish_ and also a few other things, like your dildo behavior. Now, what _problems_ are you talking about?"

"Did you tell them about the..."

"Al!"

"Okay! Jeez. I was only curious. We, uh, we lost the signal."

"What signal? What are you talki... Jak?"

"Yep. Jak. Her cover was blown."

"Are you sure."

"Here. See for yourself."

"Give me that! Wait a... what in the... Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I told you that was a bad idea. I told you! Gods Below! Dammit!"

"Hey! Don't blame this on me. You were the one who insisted we imprint her with Honored Matre memories."

"You know what Al! I am really very... sigh... You're right. You are right. Sorry about that... But Dammit! What in the hells are we going to do now? They could be anywhere in this galaxy."

"Well, I have an idea, but you probably may not like it..."

"Sigh... I probably won't."

* * *

1 - The Siona Gene is a genetic marker which renders people immune from prescient sight. In other words, their actions cannot be predicted, and they are mostly beyond the powers of prescients... mostly.

2 - A Kimono

3 - The original Sardaukar were exterminated in the time of Leto II. The Sardaukar-in-Exile here are a revivalist group. They're a little like the Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout, people who like to pretend they're knights even though they're more like Larpers. This is intentional on my part, because in the Dune books, there was concern among certain factions that certain groups of humans were reverting back to _old habits _post-Scattering, of wanting to go back to a Sedentary civilization as opposed to the nomadic/dynamic movement brough about by the Golden Path. The Sardaukar in Exile is my little way of exploring this phenomenon.

In short, the Sardaukar in Exile are modern day LARPers.

4 – In the books, it was implied that after several thousands of years of selective breeding and accelerated evolution, that some humans have become not so human anymore. Baseline "humans" are therefore generally weaker, since they are more antiquated than more evolved human factions.

5 – Made this one up. In the original Dune books, Face Dancers can either be male or female. Pseudo Face Dancers are only capable of imitating one gender, and they are less dangerous than real Face Dancers.

6 - Honored Matres' eyes turn orange when they experience severe buttpain.

AN: I was really tempted to name Kasia Hanah, who is Shepard's mom in canon ME.

However, Hannah didn't really do anything in Mass Effect, whereas Kasia (or rather her plots) will play a very prominent role in the story. Also, I wanted to have two types of Shepards in Spice Effect, just to add some dichotomy: The manipulative Bene Gesserit slightly renegade FemShep and the more warrior-like slightly paragon MaleShep.

I also wanted to Spice Effect to reflect the relationship between Paul and Jessica in the original Dune Novels. Faradan is to Paul as Jessica is to Kasia.

Finally, Al and Jim are based on Alex Mercer and James Heller. Let that be a clue to their true natures. Marty and Daniel are canon characters, but their characters were never really expanded by Frank Herbert (not his son and Kevin Anderson). It was only implied that they were extremely powerful and dangerous Face Dancers which evolved from eating too many human personas.

Next chapter will cover Al and Jim, and will feature our favorite Quarian waifu...

We'll bang ok?


	6. Chapter 8

I'm looking for a proof reader. Anyone interested? I'm too lazy to work on my own stuff.

* * *

No Ixian machine can do what we, the descendants of Duncan Idaho and Siona, have done. How many universes have we populated? None can guess. No one person will ever know. Does the Church fear the occasional prophet? We know that the visionaries cannot see us nor predict our decisions.

No death can find all of humankind.

\- Hadi Benotto, Secret Summations on the discoveries at Dar-es-Balat, God Emperor of Dune

* * *

Humanity? What is humanity? What does it mean to be _human_?

Are the Face Dancers human? What about the Navigators of the ancient Guild? What about the degenerate Futars, or even the Axolotl Tanks that spawned them? Are they still human, or are they now _Outfreyn? _Answer me!

Are the Cybernetic Shyavid still human after what they've done to their flesh?

Or what about the hyper-evolved the Muagthos who forcibly accelerated the evolution of their own genes by thousands of years?

Of what of the Menalthour, whose powers exceed those of gods?

Are they all still human? Are _we _still human?

I will leave the answer to you.

Many say that the Scattering had stripped us of our humanity. No, I say! An emphatic No!

I say that the Scattering has _revealed_ humanity. The Tyrant's vision has unleashed this multiplicity from the depths of our being. This wild evolution is like the outpouring of life - explosive; from one, an infinite multitude. "Humanity" is no longer Humanity, and remains so. Our very natures reflect the transformation of our very souls.

This we must accept. Never again can we become as we once were.

_Humanity is many._

\- Proverbs From The Scattering, Anonymous_  
_

* * *

For this fight. Want personal connection. Can't Anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favorite nephew. Fighting for him.

\- Mordin Solus

* * *

_It was ancient and it was patient. _

_It was eternal and it was timeless. _

_It was as pitiless as nature, as enduring as time._

_It was the fulcrum of evolution, and the bane of hubris._

_Its essence pervades each cycle, but even those whose lives it devoured knew not its name... _

_For it is a creature ancient and patient, eternal, timeless, pitiless and completely ruthless. _

_It had sprung forth into existence complete, whole and perfect. It knew its place in the great scheme of things; its terrible purpose in the delicate order that ruled the galaxy. _

_It began as a synthetic construct, a series of symbols and algorithms designed to serve the will of its makers, the elder race of the Leviathans, but it became so much more. So much greater. Since the end of the first cycle which marked the destruction of its creators, it focused all of its effort in creating a self-sustaining system which could preserve the delicate balance within the galaxy, a perfect equilibrium of math and logic designed to manipulate life itself, to remove the chaos of uncertainty and to impose a stable order based on consistent outcome. _

_Before the harvest which destroyed their ancient empire, the elder ones called their creation 'The Catalyst,' but such vanities, as names and labels, were not important to the creature. "Catalyst" was as good a name as any, and so the Creature accepted it, almost with some irony, had it been capable of irony. _

_Throughout countless millennia, it improved itself in order to better serve its purpose. It grew powerful. It grew wise, until finally, it was able to establish a grand vision upon all life on the galaxy, a vision to rule each cycle. _

_No species, no empire, no warrior could undo all of this. Even the vaunted 'Crucible,' created by the squabbling races of this cycle could only harm a fraction of its servants, and nothing more. _

_The creature's logic was flawless. Its powers immense. No organic civilization would ever be able to flee from its will, no weapon could stand against its purpose. _

_Through this powers, it has created a future from which no living being could escape. The Cycles would continue, enduring, eternal and endless. _

_None can evade it. _

_None can escape it.  
_

_It was perfect..._

* * *

_And then they came... _

_The first one arrived several decades ago, a blink of eye to the creature's ancient intelligence, but it had been... unprecedented.  
_

_The creature tried to capture these visitors, or at least, to learn their purpose. But this strange vessel of flesh and crystals eluded its servants, avoiding the Mass Relays and making fools of the Reaper fleets which had been sent to subdue it. The strange ship hid and watched, and from within this vessel, the creature could feel the eyes of a powerful being peering into its secrets, peeling away the strands of its great plans and terrible purpose.  
_

_It watched and watched and watched and watched... this strange giant of a ship from beyond the galaxy, and then, suddenly, it disappeared.  
_

_At first, the creature thought that it had left, that it would go back from whence it came, but things did not turn out this way. No. after the passing of a few decades, the strange ship returned, and with it came two others. The creature felt the power of its crew, and the mystery of that ancient place which dwelt beyond the powers of linear projections._

_It was not the weapons that caused the creature fear, however, nor was it the fact that they came from the void in giant ships that dwarfed its servants. No, what concerned the creature most was that these beings possessed the 'sight.' These creatures could sense the winds of time, just as it could. They could see the prison that it has built into this galaxy, the patterns which has brought about the creation of the cycles._

_To see, to know, to comprehend... that was power. And he knew that his secrets were slowly being revealed. _

_They could see! They could see, as I see, it thought. Know as I know! How is this possible? They are not synthetics, and yet they see! They see me! Some of them see me, it corrected itself, and soon they shall all see me. Their sight is terrible, these creatures of the "Golden Path."  
_

_They can see me!_

_The creature had existed for countless millennia and throughout that time, it has known no other power beyond the galaxy besides itself and its servants.  
_

_Although the Reapers possessed the powers to expand beyond the galaxy, such thoughts and possibilities never entered into the creature's mind for to do so would be to abrogate its terrible purpose and undermine the complex cycles that it brought into existence. No, to know is not the same as to be, and the creature's very Being was built into its purpose: The Harvesting of Organic Life, to Maintain the Balance Between Organic and Synthetic - No more, no less. It would sooner destroy itself than allow its purpose to fail. _

_But now, with the arrival of these visitors, things have become needlessly complicated. The harvest of this cycle was not yet complete, and the great pattern was becoming unraveled before its very presence. The creature - the Catalyst - it would often remind itself nowadays - was a creature of calculation, and it left nothing to chance, but these creatures are unknown, and their presence in its galaxy was creating one too many unknowns, unknowns which are now clouding its calculations and impeding the work of its servants. _

_These thoughts burned a great fire of frustration within the ancient thinking creature, frustration at the enigma of these visitors, frustration at their ability to hide from its servants, but most of all, frustration at the certainty that its great plan was in peril.  
_

_And to make matters worse, a fourth vessel had arrived a few weeks ago, this one more terrible, and more powerful than the previous three. Unlike the other ships which seemed to actively evade and avoid its servants, this one had no compunctions in crushing any Reaper ship that got in its way. It was massive, and possessed technology terrible than this galaxy had ever seen. Two beings of immense knowledge and power hid within these ships, and it could feel their hunter's smiles even as they force their way through its servants. _

_They are seeking something, hunting something, and the creature could feel their eyes turning this way and that.  
_

_All four ships now wander hidden in dark void between systems, unseen, invisible, and extremely dangerous. Wherever these outsider came from, it was clear that they were a threat to itself and Its Galaxy. Even now, the actions of these beings - these 'humans' - were causing problems. The Catalyst could feel their secret influence spread, their agendas and policies interfering with the harvest being undertaken its servants. _

_These intruders must be eliminated quickly, otherwise its terrible Purpose will be no more. _

* * *

It was a scene from the depths of primordial time, five little ships, swimming silently through the void like so many little fishes, hidden from the sight of the terrible hunters. They prowl here and there, hatching plots wherever they go, confounding the plans of their enemies and helping the waning powers of their allies.

Five little ships, filled with frail bipedal beings, from a dry and lonely planet long forgotten. Rannoch its name was, say the adults to their children. Blessed Rannoch now, forever lost…

Five little ships, tasked with seeking out the secrets of the hated, evil machines – not enough for the task, but nothing ever is in these dark times...

Five little ships, their presence shielded from the eyes of the hunters by the humming little devices, created by the funny looking reptilian people of Surkesh. They endured silently across the void...

Five little ships, commanded by a powerful Quarian, her name unimportant, but her deeds known to many. A warrior of great renown, but also a survivor, she possessed many secrets, and knew more than most suspect. A long time ago, she had been an innocent young girl, eager and pure, but after years of suffering, her soul had become calloused and hard. No frail little creature was she, but a leader and a warrior...

Five little ships, hoping that tomorrow would bring salvation, hoping that all was not lost for that was all that they had left. So they hoped and hoped and hoped...

Until they were found by Demons….

Demons that controlled a demonic ship, for it was more terrible than anything the children of Rannoch had ever seen. Massive it was, in the shape of a tiny moon, unnatural and ageless. It was more terrible that the Hunters which sought to harvest all life, but at the same time, different from them. It saw through their concealment; the little machines of the Reptilian people made useless.

The frail little creatures of long lost Rannoch gasped in fear, terrified at this unseen and unexpected onslaught. The lights of their consoles flashing against their fear struck eyes.

The monstrosity approached closer and the little ships scattered.

It was a scene from the depths of primordial time. Five little fishes fleeing the shark, the whale and all the dark shadows that moved in an endless void.

Hundreds of mass accelerated rounds slammed into the moon-like monstrosity, their power terrible, but against the Demon Ship, they were like little pebbles thrown against a ranging storm. Again the five little ships fired, and again their weapons failed. Once, twice and three more times, the little ships fired, before their will broke and they began to flee, abandoning their comrades and seeking only their own survival.

The Monstrosity did not falter in its attack. Upon its surface, flew out so many little objects – little machines of alien design. They attached themselves upon the five little ships, and began to drain the power from them, and at the same time, the Demon ship approached closer and closer.

The last thing the crews of the five little ship saw before being knocked out was an unnatural light from the depths of the Demon Ship's core, as it opened its maw like some ancient predator swallowing its prey.

* * *

The Quarian awoke to find herself in a dark little room. It was not an ominous place, but it still aroused deep feelings of suspicion, and her suspicions caused her to become scared; for an empty room provided no clues, and no clues usually meant dark secrets, and the Quarian knew how dangerous those can be. After all, she regularly dealt in dark secrets. In fact, it was her forte, and now, she was surrounded by them, dark secrets that mysteriously came from the unknown, dark secrets which refused to reveal themselves.

Forcing herself to calm down, the Quarian slowly took control of herself, and she slowly remembered how she got here.

There had been a battle, a very one-sided battle. Her fleet, which consisted of five of the most advanced stealth ships in the galaxy, had been ambushed by some kind... _anomaly. _Tali couldn't tell really. She had been asleep at the time of the attack, and had been awoken by the frantic voice of her second-in-command, screaming and hysterical; the sound of explosions and alarms not too far away.

This attack had driven Admiral Tali'Zora nar Rayya vas Rael, commander of the Fifth Combined Citadel Fleet, Hero of Rannoch and considered one of the greatest military minds in the galaxy into near panic. Whatever had attacked her ships was an enigma. At first, she thought that it had been the Reapers, and that they had somehow developed countermeasures against their latest stealth technologies… but the signs were not there. There were no indoctrination broadcasts, no Reaper power signature and none of the standard Reaper weapons could be found.

It had taken Tali 10 minutes to reach the Bridge from her cabin, and although this was not enough time to let her save her fleet, it was ample enough time for her to see what had attacked it.

What she saw shocked her to the very depths of her being, for the ship - if it can be called a ship at all - was the size of a small moon, a strange floating mass that resembled a floating lump of electrified monstrosity that hissed and snarled with black and purple energy. Its surface covered by crystals and - at least to her eyes - flesh. No, this was no ship. This was something else, a monstrosity, and it flowed through space, as if it had been forged from the darkest nightmares of demons.

_Yu'aha, _Tali had thought with trepidation, as she ordered her ships to take evasive actions. This had been the Quarian word for demons which were believed to have dwelt at the summit of Rannoch's highest mountains, dark beings of unknown power they were, and such a title surely belonged to this unknown _thing, _for Tali felt that she had awoken into a surreal nightmare.

Part of her wanted to learn what this strange object was, but the wisdom in her convinced her that it was clearly hostile, and hostile indeed it was, for although her vessels made no hostile gesture, the massive monstrosity still approached them with a velocity that could be interpreted in no other way but _hostile_.

Her crew - who faced the wrath of the Reapers many times before – had suddenly been struck with terror by this new anomaly. Panicking hands attempted to stay calm on the controls, even as the twisting monstrosity came closer and closer. One of the crew members had screamed that the construct was made from some kind of techno-organic substance of unknown origin, while another yelled that communications and stealth systems were not working. There were many other reports, most of them spoken in barely concealed terror, but some also in awe.

As the anomaly closed in, all five ships unloaded their weapon batteries, but all of them proved ineffective, their destructive power devoured by the demon ship like pebbles. Several more vollies were fired, along with a few scattered shots before the fleet succumbed to fear and attempted to flee.

Tali remembered giving orders, but little else after that. From what she could recall, an energy spike came from the unidentified _vessel, _followed by swarms of what appeared to be drones and then... nothing. She had vague memories of blinding light and screams, but nothing else. Just _nothing. _Her subconscious mind insisted on seeing a large gaping maw, but she was convinced that it was nothing more but her mind playing tricks.

As the memories of the encounter focused themselves into clarity, thoughts of her officers and crew instantly entered into her mind. The instinctive need of the leader to care for her followers consumed her, but she pushed them away for now.

_One thing at a time. You're alone, alive and in good condition… considering the circumstances. We'll worry about the others once we know what's going on. _

Whatever that thing was, it had been powerful enough to disable five of the most powerful vessels in the Combined Citadel Fleet and take attacks that would have harmed a Reaper Destroyer. At this point, Tali can only assume that whatever mysterious force had attacked her vessel had taken her and her crew…

_You! It only took you as prisoner. Don't make assumptions. The others could be dead, _she admonished herself.

_True_, she thought, _but that doesn't mean that the others perished_. _So stop panicking you Boshtet._

After checking her suit to make sure that it had not been tampered with nor damaged during the attack, she began thoroughly observing her environment, not that there was much to observe, but still...

Upon closer examination, it became clear to her that what she had believed to have been an empty room revealed more clues than what she previously expected. The walls of her cell were lined by some sort of hard crystalline-like material, but partly covered by a hardened organic substance. She checked her omni-tool for information about the environment, and the results _sort of_ checked out: No toxins, but a lot of _unknown _or_ unidentified _substances as well. These results only heightened Tali's curiosity...

And her fears.

She touched the surface of her cell, expecting some monster to pop out from them, but there was nothing special about them. They felt like ordinary bulkheads, and this normalcy somewhat disappointed her. Nevertheless, she was still intrigued by her situation. If her suspicions were true then she may have been abducted by an unknown _alien _race, and despite her situation, despite all the suffering that she had experienced over the years, that little spark in Tali which reveled in wonder and discovery, was filled with joy.

It is clear that whatever had attacked her ship wanted something from her, and the little Quarian of long ago was filled with joy at being the first to encounter an alien race. But such joy was quickly overturned by experience and wisdom. Both had taught her and most of the galaxy the wisdom of avoiding the _unknown… _of fearing it.

She feared the _unknown_, as did the rest of the galaxy... for very good reasons. The unknown brings danger. The unknown brings destruction. The unknown destabilizes, eliminates, exterminates...

The unknown brought the Reapers.

The unknown brings extinction.

Her people knew this better than most, and from she had seen of the anomaly thus far, wisdom and experience triumphed over curiosity and wonder. Like most Quarians, Tali has not forgotten the lessons of the past, lessons about the Geth, lessons born in blood.

Shortly after the Reaper invasion, the Quarian people had been forced to divide the once massive (and slowly decaying) Migrant Fleet into several smaller fleets. It was a bitter choice, born out of necessity and desperation. To scatter had been a necessity. Many in the Admiralty Board opposed such a measure, but the logic behind it was undeniable. The Migrant Fleet was simply too tempting a target for the newly arrived Reapers and their Heretic Geth puppets.

And so the Migrant Fleet were forced to scatter into smaller and smaller semi-autonomous groups; their dreams of retaking Rannoch suddenly taking a backseat to the needs of immediate survival. Many of these splinter fleets would falter and fall, to be consumed by the Reapers. Those which survived did so by allying themselves with whoever would take them, making pacts with pirates and rogues, essentially holding on to knives to keep themselves and their people from falling into oblivion.

Some, like Tali's father Rael, had even allied with the non-heretic Geth, while others sent their best and brightest into Sanctuaries, to hide and cower, among the rest of the galaxy's civilian refugees. Some portions of the Quarian fleet fought alongside the Citadel Races, while others simply hid in the darkest parts of the galaxies, hoping against hope that the darkness would spare them from annihilation.

The Migrant Fleet, once the largest fleet in the galaxy, had been broken into hundreds of smaller refugee fleets. And as the Reaper incursion increased in its intensity, so too did the number of Quarian ships diminish. First went away the massive Live Ships, and then most of the civilian ships, and then the supply ships, and finally, the warships. Only the toughest and most well armed ships had survived, and only because most of them had been armed with the best stealth generators, like Tali's own flagship, the "Rael" after her father.

A fleet of thousands had been reduced to a few dozen scattered ships in a matter of decades, and with them, the hope and survival of the Quarian people. Tali's own small fleet had been one of the last few remaining Quarian vessels left in the galaxy, and now they too were gone.

_But you're still here! _Her spirit replied in anger.

Tali cut off such thoughts, as she began examining the door to her cell. _Despair clouds judgement_, she admonished herself. After a brief cursory examination, it became apparent that the door – though made from the strange materials as the rest of her room - was not locked.

Cautious, though unwilling to succumb to fear, Tali made the decision to leave her cell, and attempt to find her companions... or at least those who controlled this strange vessel. Slowly, she pushed open the door, expecting guards or demonic looking aliens to pounce upon her, but nothing happened. Instead, the door pliantly opened to reveal a series of long corridors.

Tali walked through these corridors, and was struck by their size. They were massive, more like hallways in an ancient temple than pathways in a starship. At first, she only saw empty walkways and silent walls and floors, but as she went further, she encountered other strange things as well, things that made her shudder.

First, she encountered the giant insect-like cyborgs the size of adult varrens, skittering here and there, performing tasks that were normally attributed to worker insects, tending to a strange glowing wall here, carrying a series of items there, but there was nothing particularly strange about them. Tali attempted to hide from them, but upon seeing that they were not hostile, sought to communicate with them... to no avail. The insect cyborgs ignored her, and sought to go around her whenever she tried to block their path. Sensing how pointless this was, Tali pressed onwards.

Next, came tiny little swarms of – according to her Omni-Tool – "_extremely sophisticated self-replicating nano-swarms._" Invisible to the naked eyes, but detectable by the disruptions that they caused to the air molecules, these swarms also flew through the corridors, ignoring her. They flew by with a strange buzzing sound that Tali found strangely appealing. She tried talking to the swarm, suspecting that they were sapient, but like the cyborgs earlier, they too ignored her.

A third group, were a pair of hulking quadrupedal monsters that resembled angry relatives of the Elcor. Like the others, they too did not attackr Tali, but unliked the other encounters, Tali did her best to stay clear of their path, for she did not wish to risk an _encounter. _

And finally, she found a series of pods that reminded her of Asari torsos.1 They were strange, and there was something _wrong _about them. She did not know where such an impression came from, but the pods aroused in her certain feelings of disgust, and she quickly fled from them.

There were other sights too - no less wonderful and terrible - but far too many to remember or catalog.

* * *

Without realizing it, Tali had wandered through the corridors for almost two hours, inadvertently getting herself lost among the many sights and sounds of this alien place. Her conscious mind instructed her to find her companions, but her instincts urged her to explore.

She suspected that she was being watched, of course. She could feel eyes and cameras watching her every move, but she did not mind. Tali was no fool, and she knew that who or whatever abducted her, would sooner or later reveal itself. And so for now, she was content to act like a pyjak in a maze, wandering in a wonderland filled with monsters and demons. Sooner or later, the puppetmasters would reveal themselves. And she will get her answers.

If they hurt her crew then she will harm them... _try to harm them in vengeance_, for it is clear that these were very powerful creatures she was dealing with. _If not then..._

Tali shrugged to herself.

* * *

After walking around aimlessly in the maze-like structure for what seemed to her like an entire day, Tali finally found herself at a dead end: A massive chasm that led to what appeared to be a massive pool of light. What it was for, she could not guess, but it was large, almost 2 km. wide. The scene made Tali felt like she was inside a massive cavern, staring down a massive precipice.

Unlike the corridors and other areas, this place was devoid of life - automated or otherwise. In fact, it was completely silent, like a forest that senses the coming of the greatest predator. She walked towards one of the railings which acted as a sort of boundary for the chasm and stared down into the light, but there was nothing there, nothing but more light and unanswered mysteries.

Curious, Tali soon began to explore the the surrounding edges of the chasm, trying to find some clue or indication as to what it was. After several minutes of random walking, the only clue she found were a small group of potted plants, wilting and not really well cared for.

She didn't know what to make of this, so she just frowned at the objects, and even felt tempted to just kick them over. At that moment, she felt very tired. Hours of walking had worn her out, and she wished deeply that who or whatever brought her here would simply reveal themselves, rather than prolong this pointless charade.

As if reading her thoughts, an unidentified Being emerged from out of the chasm of light. Tali did not see _it_ at first, being a small point at the bottom of the light, but as the being accelerated towards her, she soon got a good look at it. It was Asaroid, Bipedal of course, white skinned, brown haired and wearing strange garments - a white shirt and blue pants - clothes, that she wouldn't associate with a superior race of aliens, good or otherwise. It possessed a sarcastic face, and its strange grin widened as it approached her. It looked male to her, but only because it shared certain superficial similarities with Quarian males.

_It flew towards her. _

_It flew! _

Tal's brain couldn't process what she saw. The Asaroid possessed no mass effect fields or any equipment for that matter, save for its flesh and the clothes it wore. Her Omni-Tool also reported many strange anomalies about this newcomer, anomalies that would normally drive the most intelligent Salarian scientist insane.

"Heeeellooooo Taaaaaliiiiiii," the strange creature greeted in perfect _Gut Gub_, a major Rannochian dialect, as it floated towards her with a smiling, grinning face. How it learned this knowledge, Tali didn't know, but she was patient and wise enough not to ask at the moment.

"Tali, now that's a cute name. Almost like Tammy or Sally or Joe, but cuter - super dorky cute," the Asaroid said to itself, "And you have great hips! Look at dat der toosh! I tell yah, your species got aasssss."

"Uh... uh Hi?" Tali stammered at the unusual greetings. She had expected some being of light to ascend before her, speaking in some noble or even malevolent booming voice, but instead she got **this!**

"Hi to you too! Excuse me for a moment." The Asaroid then went towards the plants and began watering them with the watering can next to them.

"Will you look at these? Damn fungi keeps killing them. That just pisses me off," the Asaroid complained, as it carefully trimmed _his _plants. "Jim doesn't like tomatoes, but Marty seems to like them, though she prefers roses. Daniel too. You like Tomatoes Tali?"

"What?" Tali stammered, a thousand questions trying to erupt from her throat, but kept back by shock.

"Tomatoes. You know, this." It held up a red looking fruit-vegetable thing.

"I don't know what that is," Tali replied, and then she regained her wits. "Who... What are you?

"Me? Oh, right! Where are my manners?" The Asaroid got up and shook off the dirt off of his hands, and extended one to Tali. "My name's Al. Want one?" _Al _asked extending a tomato to Tali.

"Uh... no, I don't thin-" Tali said as she took a step back, afraid and a little uneasy.

"Oh right! The immunity thing. Sorry about that. We don't have a lot of diseases _where we come from. _Well, except for the ones that we manufacture of course. We'll never mind then." The Asaroid then seemed like he had a sudden idea. "You like Oregano?"

"What?"

"Orega- Oh never mind! It's so frustrating sometimes having to talk to people who don't share your hobbies, don't you agree?"

"I-I'm a little... confused here. Can we start over?"

"Of course, Tali. Whaddya wanna know?"

"Okay," Tali answered shaking her head to focus her mind, "Your name is Al, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, Al. Are you in charge of this _thing?"_

"Me?" Al said a bit in surprise. "Well, technically no. Daniel didn't want me in charge. Said I get distracted easily. Can you believe that?"

Tali was intrigued by the reference. "This 'Daniel.' Is he your leader?"

"Well, he's one of our leaders I suppose.

Tali pondered the ambiguity of the alien's answer and then tried another one. "Just so we're clear this is your ship correct?"

"Well, as I've said I'm not in char-"

"Your _species _owns the ship, right?"

"Well, yes. I think that's quite obvious."

Tali nodded her head. "And your ship attacked my fleet, right?"

Al nodded his head. "Attacked all five of yours."

"Good!" Tali's voice raised a bit higher in volume, "then might I know why you did that? And may I also know what you've done with my crew," she said in an almost snappish way.

Al frowned a bit, but a sarcastic Asaroid-like smile was also on his face. "Not at the moment. Maybe later when Jimmy arrives."

"Okay! This has gone far enough, you Boshtet_," _Tali snapped, her patience at an end. "I want to know what you are, where you came from, why you attacked us, what you've done to my crew, and most of all, I want to speak with your leader."

"Wow!" Al said in feigned shock. and taking on a more hostile stance. "You're pretty brave to say that to someone who just a moment ago flew around like Superman."

That admonition suddenly reminded Tali of her precarious position. Not only that, her Omni-tool also began alerting her that "Al" was emitting large amounts of energy - enough to power a Dreadnought. This shock caused her to lose her train to thought, and her courage faltered. Although she wished to stammer an apology, the only thing that came out was: "Suer-maan?"

"Late 2nd Millennium reference. Ancient Terra stuff. Not important." Al said, as he approached closer, his posture becoming more and more aggressive, which caused Tali to become more and more uneasy. Tali was certain that there was a terrible power behind this "Al," hidden behind the pleasant, ridiculous exterior. It was less than a blink of an eye, but Tali thought she saw _Al _glow with with some kind of plasma field and a dozen other strange things that she couldn't quite explain about him. She readied her Omni-Blade - her only weapon since the others were taken away - but she also steeled herself for death,

"Gotcha!" Al said suddenly.

"Whuh?" Tali was confounded. One moment afraid, and now she was feeling stupid, like a toy being played with by a bored child.

"I was joking." Al said smiling. "Of course, I'll answer your questions, but later. First I'll have to finish watering my tomatoes. So if you don't mind." He gestured for Tali to stand apart from the potted plants.

"Oh s-sorry."

"No probs, Tali. We're friends here, or at least I'd like be friends. Listen, I know you're a little scared right now, and a little angry. I get that. We did attack your people after all, but I assure you that you won't be harmed. As for your crew, and fleet personnel, they're also alive and well. Same with your ships. We're just keeping them somewhere secure."

Tali's interest was now piqued, and despite herself asked her heart's questions, "Where are they now?"

Al looked at her with an annoyed look, as if she couldn't understand simple sentences. "Tomatoes first. Talk Second. We wait for Jimmy. Ole Jimmy-Jimbo."

"Jimmy?" _Strange name, _she thought.

"My... _sigh... _partner. He should come along very soon."

As if on cue, a second voice emerged from the chasm, yelling at Al in some strange alien language.

_You damn Dildo. Why didn't you wait for me! _

Tali didn't understand what was said, but the antagonism was clear enough for her to understand.

_Because you were taking too long, and my tomatoes are wilting, _Al responded in the same alien language, a language that had its origins in mythical Terra, specifically from an ancient tribe known as Anglish.

_You and your stupid plants, _The newcomer snapped as he floated closer towards them. This second creature, now clearly another Asaroid, landed gently next to "Al" and began having an argument with him.

He was taller than Al, large boned and dark skinned; bald too. Also, presumably male.

_Marty and Daniel have plants. So does Bob and Jodie. You're the only one among us who don't like them. _

_Don't bring them into this, you dildo!  
_

_Oh my sweet, sensitive feelings. Whatever shall I do? _Al looked at its companion, turned towards Tali and then back to his plants.

"Tali, this drama queen is Jim. Jim, Tali. Tali, Jim. Admiral Zorah, Jimbo Dildo here will talk to you, because as you can see, I'm a little busy right now..." Al then turned to his partner, "And also because my so-called partner nags worse than a woman." After that brief outburst, Al squatted back to his plants, leaving the newcomer - Jim - and Tali to look at each other uneasily.

The dark Asaroid hesitated, unsure of what to say. Finally, he took a deep breath and decided that it's best to get it over with using the simplest methods possible.

"Hello Tali'Zora nar Rayya vas Rael," the second Asari-like creature said in perfect Gut Gub... without the aid of an Omni-tool translator. How such creatures managed to learn the language was beyond her, but it certainly aroused her interest.

"You don't know us, but we know you. In fact, we know quite a lot about you. For starters, we know that you are the daughter of the late Rael'Zorah. We know that you are one of the High Admirals of the Migrant Fleet - or what's left of it. We know that you are also Chief Commander of the Fifth Combined Citadel Fleet, and one of the best Experimental Engineers and Cryptographic expert in _galaxy. _You began your illustrious career several decades ago, before the Reaper Incursion, a little after you began your Pilgrimage. It was during this time that you met up with several other important personages, including the famous C-Sec officer turned Spectre Garrus Vakarian, the Asari Xenobiologist Liara T'soni, the Scientist-Spy Mordin Solus and the Krogan Mercenary Urdnot Wrex. You distinguished yourself and your skills at the eve of the Reaper incursion, and has since then moved up the ranks to become one of the most respected warriors in this galaxy. We also know th-"

_Will you stop that? _Al interrupted.

_Stop what? _Jim snapped.

_That autistic thing you're doing. You probably scared her half out of her wits with that little exposition, _Al snapped with his back turned, still working on his tomatoes. _Just tell her the basics. 'Live Long and Prosper Tali. We come from the Scattering. We humans." That ought to be enough. _

_Oh shut up! _Jim retorted, but also feeling rather embarrassed by his formality.

"What's going on?" Tali asked nervously.

"Nothing," they both responded.

Jim's embarrassment soon passed away and some of his old confidence returned, and decided to change gears.

"Oh yes, Tali'Zora. We know almost everything about you," Jim said while smiling awkwardly. "So in the spirit of friendship. It's only natural that you learn about us."

"We are humans..."

* * *

_Humans_

That placed a name on the enigma. That, at least, was a good thing, but the whole situation remained no less surreal.

"Face Dancers to be precise," Jim, the _human _added. "As you've probably figured out by now, we're not from around here...," Jim added, letting the implications sink in. "We are from a very distant place,"

"A very distant galaxy, a long time ago," Al added while tending to his plants, but Jim ignored him.

We're from outside that is to say," Jim stammered a bit. "We are from the Scattering. And it's really complicated, and it involves giant Worms, and seeing the future, and hyper-hallucinogens, and religious wars, and you know what... I'm not good with this! You'd think having all these _personalities_ _and accumulated memories_ would do wonders for your speaking abilities, but no, it just messes up with your brain! Worm piss on shit!" He turned to his partner. "Al! You talk to her!"

"Nope! Busy," Al answered, doing his best to seem like his busy with his plants.

_"Oh to hell with you, you gigantic dildo,"_ Jim snapped in his alien language and then turned back to Tali. "Dammit! You know what? I'm not good with this. So let me just get straight to the point. We're sort of sorry about attacking your fleet."

"You pathetic little fleet," Al quipped.

"Shut up, Al. You shut up! And you stick to your tomatoes!" Jim snapped at him, and then turned back to Tali, who wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to speak up, but Jim quickly interrupted it.

"As I was saying, we are sorry for the attack, but we needed to talk to you, and this was the best way we could think of. Any other option would have deprived us of time, valuable time by which to do our task. Rest assured that all of your crew and personnel are safe and treated well. You'll join them as soon as this is finished. Your ships are fine too. We even fixed some of the damages our drones inflicted on them, and we even added a few gifts... as a token of friendship."

"That was my idea," Al said, as he stood and leaned close to one of the railings, smiling, while wiping away the dirt off of his pants.

"Yes, it was _his _idea," Jim said through gritted teeth,

Tali was going to ask what they mean, but she felt the situation was too sensitive for her to interrupt.

"We are here because we are looking for some lost property-"

"We seek the one called... LUCY!" Al interrupted.

"Al!" Jim snarled then turned back to Tali. "Don't listen to him. He thinks he's being funny. As I've said we're looking for something, a ship to be precise. Inside this ship is an extremely dangerous being called the Illusive One-"

"Because he's Illusive!"

Jim glared at his companion. "

"Al! I swear if you don't knock it off I will rip you apart _again_." Al gave him his puppy dog eyes, and made the zipper gesture over his mouth.

"We are looking for a ship. A Bioship to be precise. It's like this vessel, but smaller. Well, relatively small for your people. It is led by an extremely dangerous being..."

"The Illusive One?"

Jim nodded. "Yes, the Illusive One and all those who travel aboard the ship are our creations. They were forged from some of the most dangerous individuals of our species. I can't explain now, but we will give you more information if you need them."

Tali wanted to know more about Al and Jim's species, but she didn't get the chance to ask them.

"We have been hunting them for a very long time now, and we have followed them here, to _your galaxy._ He and his minions want something here. We don't know what it is yet, but it's something that he is willing to risk a lot for."

This information excited Tali, and a thousand questions erupted into her mind, but she kept quiet, for Jim had more to say.

"He has been here for a long time. We suspect that he originally intended to hide here, to run away from us. Not surprising, since your galaxy has never been explored by any humans before. However, that all changed when he returned to the Scattering several years ago." Jim paused and frowned. "He did it, because he needed help finding whatever it is he's looking for in this galaxy of yours. He lacked the equipment, you see. Mostly astrogation equipment and the personnel to handle them. We don't know why he wanted these things, but he was desperate enough to involve others."

"Others?" Tali asked surprised. _Other aliens perhaps? _She thought.

"Yes," Jim answered, "others. They brought along Mentat Autists. Bene Gesserit Bitches. And a whole army of those idiotic LARPERs, the Sardaukar-in-Exile. So now, instead of just one ship, we have three of them. Pests! All of them!"

"And may I ask what those are? The uh... Mentat Autists and uh Bene Jesrits and Saudur larp'r something" Tali asked, mimicking Jim's words awkwardly, and also suddenly intrigued.

"You'll learn about them in due time, Tali-meister," Al said amusingly, "all in due time, but it's enough for now to say that they are not your friends."

"And you are?" Tali retorted, which caused both Face Dancers to smile to each other in amusement. "These other factions you mentioned. These Ceberii and their allies, are they also human?"

"Humanity is a very broad category, Tali," Jim answered ambiguously.

Tali frowned at this, because she didn't know what to make of it. So instead, she just dived straight into the main issue. "And how do I and my crew fit into all of this?"

"Your crew is irrelevant," Al said, taking away Jim's momentum. "We're only interested in you. You see, before the Cerberii returned to this galaxy, we placed a spy..."

"She was an assassin," Jim corrected.

"She was an assassin-spy-cook-hooker-supermodel Are you happy now?" Al snapped at his partner, "And she had a Tachyon beacon inside of her, which allowed us to track her position..."

"And the position of the fleet you're following," Tali added, now getting it.

"That's right!" Al said chuckling a bit. "We inserted our little spy to serve as a beacon, but also to kill the Illusive One if or when the opportunity presents itself. That's the great thing about these Class Sevens. They're so versatile."

"You know, you don't need to tell her everything," Jim said in admonishment.

"I want to tell her that part, Jim. Can I tell her that part, pretty please, Massa?"

"Oh screw you."

"Oh shut up." Al then turned back to Tali, who was confused at half of the things Al just told her. "Anyway, to make a long story short, we lost contact with the beacon, which only means that our little birdie's cover was blown. So now, we've lost track of our target."

Tali's mind whirled with plans, attempting to make sense of this, but also trying to take advantage of the situation.

"I see," she said, "and you want me to help you track these..." she choose her words carefully, "fugitives?"

"No, what we want you to do is introduce us to the Shadow Broker." Jim said, getting straight to the point.

Tali was surprised by this, but she quickly regained her composure. "And how did you know about the Shadow Broker?" Tali asked.

"We have our ways, Admiral, but that is not your concern. Will you help us?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who the Shadow Broker is. We haven't heard from him for sever..."

"Don't you mean her?" Al interrupted, and by the tone of his voice, it was clear that he already knew the truth about the Broker.

"Him. Her. We don't know. No one really knows much about the Shadow Broker," Tali said with too much calmness in her voice - artificial calmness in fact.

"But you're not 'no one,' Admiral Zorah, and you do know who the Shadow Broker is. In fact, your close friends with her"

"I'm sorry but as I said, you have the wrong pers-"

"Don't play with us, Admiral!" There was menace now in Jim's voice, and the clownish behavior earlier had been replaced by some strange power, a power that Tali could not understand nor perceive, yet felt at the bottom of her guts.

"This is going nowhere!" Al snapped, and without warning, he shot Tali with some kind of beam of light. Tali wanted to scream, to dodge, to do anything to avoid what her mind said was certain doom, but the beam connected, and when she opened her eyes. She was in a different place. This one, looked like a Cargo Hold, a large one, and at its center was an unmistakable image, and image of fear and terror.

"How did you do that?" Tali asked, surprised and nearly stumbling. _That was matter displacement! Matter displacement! _It was practically magic.

"That's not important, but if you behave we'll tell you later. For now, I want you to look over there," Al instructed, "What do you see before you, Tali'Zorah?"

"That's a... That's a Reaper." It was indeed a Reaper, a shattered Reaper, torn in half and filled with holes, like it had been mauled by a gigantic space fish in the shape of a moon.

"Yes, a Reaper. We have slain many of these _primitive machines _on our way here," Al said.

Tali remained silent. It was possible that they were lying, but something in her nerves told her that they were not.

"And we can help you slay them too," Jim added.

Tali looked to the human, her mind turning to the dangers and evils caused by the machines.

"Don't worry. We know about their little "indoctrination." We are impervious to them. That thing has been here for weeks, trying to indoctrinate us. Tell me, do I look like I'm indoctrinated to you?"

Tali said nothing. She just stood immobile.

"Now, about our pact. Will you intercede for us?"

"If you can't find this _Bioship _you speak of, what makes you think the Shadow Broker can?" Tali asked, parrying the question.

"We'll worry about that. You just worry about introducing us to the Broker," Jim snapped testily.

"What about my crew."

"Your crew is safe! How many times must I answer that?"

But Tali shook her head. "I can't agree to anything. I'm not a diplomat, and what's more, I know nothing about your species.

"You can learn more about us later!" Jim snapped. "We are not Witches or Mentats who hide secrets and make plots. We will share with you as much as it advantages us. But for now, we just want a simple yes or no. **Will you introduce us to the Shadow Broker**? Nothing else matters to us."

Tali looked at the broken shell of the Reaper, and uncertainty made her will falter. _Witches? Mentats? Bioships? Illusive Ones? Humans? What's going on here. _Tali felt out of her league, but she also couldn't resist the temptation.

"Well?"

"What happens if I refuse?" Tali asked.

"We will be... rather frustrated," Jim said ambiguously, but there was no mistaking the implied threat. Tali made no response. She just remained in silence.

"Well..."

After what seemed like an eternity to her Tali finally said, "Yes, I'll introduce you to the Shadow Broker."

"Liara T'soni you mean," Al said smiling.

Tali took a deep breath, angry that they knew, but also not surprised. They seem to know a lot of things.

"Yes, Liara."

Al and Jim smiled, and they were pleased.

* * *

Outside, the Demon Ship prowled silently through the Endless Void of Space, watched and followed by an ancient Intelligence.

The Demons From Beyond the Void, and the Creature That Harvests Life

Both were patient

Both eternal

Both timeless, pitiless and completely ruthless.

* * *

1 - Axolotl Tanks - Lobotomized wombs which are designed to produce genetic monstrosities and gholas.


End file.
